USA > Georgia > Chatham County > Savannah > A history of Savannah and South Georgia, Volume II > Part 20
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Stephen Nathan Harris is a native Georgian, his birth having occurred in Liberty county in 1877. the son of Stephen Raymond and Lanra E. (McGillis) Harris. His father, who has lived in Savannah sinec 1886, was born in Liberty county, the ancestral home of this branch of the Harris family. S. R. Harris' father was Dr. Stephen Nathan Harris, who was born and died in Liberty county, The latter's father was Dr. Raymond Harris, a native of Virginia, who came to Georgia when a boy with his father and located in Liberty county. The subject's paternal grandmother, the widow of Dr. Stephen Nathan Harris, died January 15, 1913, in Savannah. The maiden name of the venerable and admirable lady was Emma A. JJones and her father was Capt. Joseph Jones of Liberty county. The latter was the son of Maj. John Jones, a South Carolinian, who served throughout the Revo- lutionary war, first as aide-de-camp to Colonel Elliott and later as aide- de-camp and major on the staff of General MeIntosh. It was while acting in the latter capacity that he was killed in the siege of Savannah on October 9, 1779. The subject's grandmother is of Revolutionary
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descent on her mother's side also. Her mother, Elizabeth (Hart) Jones, was the daughter of Mary (Sereven) Hart, who was the daughter of Gen. James Sereven, of Georgia, a distinguished Revolutionary soldier, who was brigadier general of Georgia militia and was killed at the engagement at Midway Church, November 24, 1778. Capt. John Hart, the husband of Mary Sereven Hart, mentioned above. was an officer of the Second South Carolina regiment in the Revolutionary war and was taken prisoner at Charleston. May 12, 1780. The scion of sneh ancestry, it is small wonder that the spirit of the men and women who achieved American independence burns in the breast of the young citizen whose name appears at the head of this paragraph. Although for only a few years an active member of the body politie, he has well performed his part therein, giving heart and hand to all measures which in his judgment promise well for the general welfare. His career has been such as to warrant the trust and confidence of the business world. for he has ever conducted all transactions on the strictest principles of honor and integrity.
Mr. Harris is almost a life-long resident of Savannah, having lived here since the age of six and having received the greater part of his education in this city. IIe is the president of the Harris Tire Com- pany, one of the most flourishing business establishments in Savannah. This deals in general automobile supplies and its members are also branch manager's of the Firestone Tire Company of Akron, Ohio. The Harris business was established in 1906.
Mr. Harris has from early boyhood been interested in affairs mil- itary and in 1896 enlisted as a private in the Savannah Volunteer Guards, joining Company B. With this company he went into service at the time of the Spanish-American war and had steady promotion, first becoming sergeant. then lieutenant and finally captain of Com- pany B, which is his present rank. He is extremely popular with the boys, who find in him their gallant ideal of an officer.
Mr. Harris was married on April 24, 1901, to Miss Mary Coburn of this eity. Mrs. Harris is a daughter of Moses Douville Coburn, who was a member of the society of Cincinnati.
SHELBY MYRICK has been engaged in the practice of the law in Savannah since 1897 and is recognized as one of the notable young lawyers of the city. His practice has grown as he has demonstrated his ability to handle with skill the intricate problems of jurisprudence and he possesses a distinctively representative elientage which has eonneeted him with some of the most important litigation heard in the courts of this section. Also, for six years he held the office of city recorder.
Mr. Myrick was born at Forsyth, Monroe county, Georgia, on the 16th day of July, 1878, the son of Bascom and Mary Louise (Seudder) Myrick. His father was born in historie Liberty county in the town of Flemington and died in Ameriens, Georgia, Angust 8, 1895. lle was one of the most prominent and successful newspaper men of the state and for several years previous to his decease he was the editor and publisher of the Americus Times-Recorder. The mother was born at Shelbyville, Tennessee, and is still living, making her home with the subject in Savannah.
The paternal grandfather of Shelby Myrick was Rev. Daniel J. Myrick, a widely known Methodist minister of the earlier years, who occupied some of the most prominent pulpits of the state in that de- nomination. He was born in Upson county, Georgia, and about the be- ginning of his ministerial career in Liberty county he was married to
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Miss Mary Adeline Andrews, a member of one of the old families of that county. Rev. Myrick's mother, who was Elizabeth A. (Candler) Myrick, was the daughter of Col. William Candler. of Richmond county, Georgia, who was a member of a committee from that county appointed by virtue of an act of the Georgia legislature in September, 1777, "For the expulsion of internal enemies from this state." He was also colonel of a regiment known as "The Regiment of Refugees of Richmond county," which served in the War of the Revolution. Colonel Candler's regiment was at the field of Savannah and at the battles of Fish Dam Ford, Blackstock Farm and King's Mountain. Mr. Myrick. on his mother's side, is a great-great-great-grandson of Nathaniel Seudder, who was born in New Jersey in 1733 and was colonel of New Jersey Militia in the Revolutionary war. Colonel Scudder was killed in a skirmish at Shrewsbury, October 16, 1781.
Mr. Myrick received the greater part of his education in the Uni- versity of Georgia and graduated from the academic department in the class of 1896. In the following year he graduated from the law depart- ment. He came from college to Savannah and began the practice of his profession in this city, which has continued with uninterrupted success, Mr. Myrick being on all sides recognized as one of the able attorneys of this bar. In 1901 he became city recorder of Savannah and held this office until 1907, with credit to himself and honor and profit to the people.
COL. GEORGE NOBLE JONES, a member of the Savannah bar and a representative citizen of Savannah, is descended from some of Georgia's famous historie characters. He was born in this city in 1874, son of George Fenwick and Anna Wylly (Habersham) Jones.
Both the Jones and the IIabersham families were connected with the colony of Georgia from the time of its founding, taking a prom- inent part in its early history, the Revolutionary war, and events of importance in the state's subsequent history. Some of the most famous men and women in the history of Georgia were members of these two families, and a more extended mention of them will be found in the general history chapters of this work.
George Fenwick Jones, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Savannah, and died in this city in 1876. By profession he was a lawyer. He was a son of George Noble and Mary (Savage-Nuttall) Jones, and this George Noble Jones' father was Noble Wimberly Jones. who in turn was the son of Dr. George Jones, United States Senator from Georgia. This brings the line of ancestry to Dr. George Jones' father, Dr. Noble Wimberly Jones, the great-great-grandfather of Col. George Noble Jones, who was born in England in 1732 and died in Savannah in 1805. Ile was an ardent supporter of the colonists' cause in the Revolutionary war; was speaker of the provincial legislature of Georgia in 1775; member of the Georgia Council of Safety in 1776; member of the Continental Congress from Georgia. in session at Phila- delphia, first in 1775. and again in 1781-82. During the British oc- cupation of Savannah he was imprisoned and sent to St. Augustine. His portrait hangs in Independence Hall in Philadelphia. It was in his infaney that he came to Savannah, being brought here by his parents. His father, Captain (later Colonel) Noble Jones was a. mem- ber of Oglethorpe's party, landing here in the same ship with Ogle- thorpe in 1733 and being one of the original party that founded the colony of Georgia. Col. Noble JJones was a surveyor in his majesty's service in the new colony, and later became treasurer of the colony and a member of the council.
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The mother of Col. George Noble Jones was a danghter of William Neyle and Josephine (Clay) Habersham. William Neyle Habersham's parents were Robert and Elizabeth M. (Neyle) Habersham. Elizabeth Neyle having come from a South Carolina family. Robert Habersham's father was Col. Joseph Habersham, who was an officer of the Conti- mental line, Georgia troops, throughout the Revolutionary war, con- nected with the First Georgia Regiment, first as major and later as lieutenant colonel. . Colonel Habersham was born in Savannah in 1751 and died in this city in 1815. Besides his military career, he was a prominent figure in national affairs after the Revolution, being post- master general under both President Washington and President Adams. Ile was one of the charter members of the Society of the Cincinnati, when that society was organized in 1783.
The father of Col. Joseph Habersham was Gov. James Habersham, who came from England to Savannah about 1738, being the founder of the Habersham family in Georgia. He was governor of the colony during the absence of Governor Wright.
Another son of Gov. James Habersham was Maj. John Habersham, who was a prominent officer in the Revolutionary war, and was also an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati. He was the father of Dr. Joseph Clay Habersham, who was one of the early health officers of Savannah. Dr. Joseph Clay Habersham was the father of Josephine Clay Habersham, who married her third cousin, William Neyle Haber- sham, the maternal grandfather of Colonel Jones of this review. In this way the colonel is descended from both Joseph and John Haber- sham, brothers.
George Noble Jones was educated in the schools of Savannah and in the University of Virginia. His law eourse he pursued in the University of Georgia, where he graduated with the elass of 1896, re- ceiving the degree of LL. D. That same year he was admitted to the bar and began the practice of his profession in Savannah, and here he has since been engaged in the practice of law, with the exception of about one year's temporary absence, ending in the fall of 1911, in Florida, where he has extensive land interests.
For some years Mr. Jones was an active member of the Georgia Hussars, one of the most famous military organizations of the United States. It was founded in the early colonial days in Savannah, and Col. Noble Jones and Dr. Noble Wimberly Jones were both captains of the "First Troop of Horse," which was the name of the organiza- tion in those days. George Noble Jones was sergeant major of the First Regiment of Cavalry, of which the Hussars is a part. During the administration of Gov. Joseph M. Terrell. Mr. Jones was honored by being made lieutenant colonel and aide de camp on the governor's staff.
Colonel Jones was married in Savannah on April 6, 1904, to Miss Frances Meldrim, daughter of Gen. Peter W. and Franees P. (Casey) Meldrim. They have four children: Frances Meldrim, Anna Haber- sham, Noble Wimberly, and Caroline Wallace.
ROBERT VINCENT MARTIN, M. D. In no profession is there more constant progress than in that of medicine and surgery, thousands of the finest minds the world has produced making it their one aim and ambition to discover more effectual method for the alleviation of suf- fering, some more potent weapon for the conflict with disease, some clever device for repairing the damaged human mechanism. Ever and anon the world hears with mingled wonder and thanksgiving of a new conquest of disease and disaster which a few years ago would have been placed
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within the field of the impossible. To keep in touch with these discov- eries means constant alertness, and while there may be in many quarters indolenee in keeping pace with modern thought, the highest type of physician believes it no less than a crime not to be master of the latest means of science. To this type belongs Dr. Robert Vincent Martin. his constant thought and endeavor being devoted to the profession of which he is so admirable an exponent.
Dr. Martin was born in Barnwell county. South Carolina, in 1877, his parents being William E. and Sarah Harriet (Thompson) Martin. The father was born at "Mock Orange" plantation, the ancestral home of the Martins. in Barnwell county. South Carolina, and he and the subject's mother are now residents of Albany. Georgia. Since leaving the plantation early in life, the elder gentleman has been a railroad man.
Dr. Martin can trace his genealogy back to 1396, to Sir John Mark- ham, judge of court of common pleas. The doctor's paternal grand- father was John Vincent Martin. of Barnwell county, who was a son of Judge William D. Martin. also of that county.
Judge Martin was a distinguished lawyer and jurist and a member of congress from South Carolina. He married the daughter of Dr. Peter Williamson of Edgefield, South Carolina, who was a surgeon of the Revolutionary war. Judge Martin was twice married, his second wife being the daughter of Chief Justice Dorsey of Maryland. The subject's mother, whose birthplace was in Charleston, South Carolina, is of English deseent. Her family, as well as that of the Martins, are deseended from ancestors whose names are promient in colonial and Revolutionary history. One of the first Martins in America was Capt. Abram Martin, a participant in the colonial wars and an early settler from England. of Westmoreland county, Virginia.
When Robert Vincent was a young boy, his parents left the old homestead in South Carolina and came to the Forest city, but did not reside here permanently. going from this city to Maeon. In the latter eity the subject received his preliminary education. He early deeided to adopt the medical profession as his own and to gain the necessary preparation he matriculated in the Charleston Medical College of the state of South Carolina, from which he was graduated with the class of 1904. He went thence to New York City and entered the department of health, and during his connection therewith he was on duty partieu- larly in that branch of the department devoted to contagious diseases. For his work in said department he was granted a diploma and his training thus received was of remarkably vahiable character. Following this he served as interne in the New York City hospital, and from this entered the lying-in hospital as interne. receiving diplomas from both of these institutions. ITis work in these hospitals gave him a very wide range of experience for the beginning of his work as a regular practi- tioner.
Dr. Martin began his practice in Savannah in April. 1906, and has established a splendid name for himself as a physician and surgeon. Hle is a member of the staff of the Georgia Infirmary. With the county. state and American medical associations he has affiliation and he has served as second vice-president of the First Congressional District Med- ical Society. He is a member of the Landrum lodge of Masons and finds no small amount of pleasure in his relations with the ancient and august order. He has taken an active part in local military affairs; he joined the First Regiment of Infantry. National Guard of Georgia, becoming first lieutenant on March 28, 1907. and subsequently was pro- moted to his present rank, that of major of the medical department.
On January 8. 1913. Dr. Martin was united in marriage to Annie.
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daughter of McDonald Dunwody and great-granddaughter of Gov. C. J. McDonald of Georgia.
DR. GEORGE MOSSE NORTON. One of the best known men in the medical profession in Savannah, is Dr. George Mosse Norton. His father and other members of his family were of the medical profession, and his ability in this line may be credited somewhat to inheritance. Born of one of the oldest southern families, he has lived up to the repu- tation for wit, and brillianey and strength of character which had belonged to his ancestors for generations. Although one of the younger physicians in the city he has attained a success that an older praeti- tioner might envy.
Dr. Norton was born in Savannah, Georgia, on the 29th of November, 1873, the son of Dr. Robert Godfrey Norton and Martha Jane ( Edwards) Norton. He is descended from Jonathan Norton, a nafive of England, who early in life eame to America and settled on the Island of St. Helena, off the coast of South Carolina. IIe was born in 1705 and died in 1774, his wife being Mary Ann Chaplin. One of his daughters, Dorothy Phoebe, became the wife of Dr. George Mosse. The latter was a notable character in the coast country of South Carolina and in Savannah. He was born, reared and educated for the medical pro- fession in the University of Dublin, Ireland. Soon after his graduation he came as a physician to America and settled on the Island of St. Helena, where he subsequently became the owner of a large amount of landed property. In addition to this professional practice he was a large planter and a manufacturer of leather. He became in time a man of considerable wealth. and of prominence in this section of the country. Both the Nortons and the Mosses were originally members of the Protestant Episcopal church, but after coming to America they became devoted members of the Baptist church. Dr. George Mosse, at his own expense, built a house of worship on the Island of St. Helena. The advantages for education on the island were extremely meagre, so in order to better educate his younger children, in about 1799 or 1800, he removed with his family to Savannah. He had a large family and one of his daughters, Martha. became the wife of Col. Alexander Lawton. They were the parents of Gen. A. R. Lawton, now deceased, who was one of the most distinguished lawyers in Savannah, a brigadier general in the Confederate army, and for a long time the general attorney of the Central of Georgia Railroad. Members of the Norton family lived on the Island of St. Helena for over a hundred years and have been closely identified with the history of that island, as well as with the near-by towns of South Carolina; Beaufort, Bluffton, Robertville and Black Swamp, and with Savannah.
The great-great-grandfather of Dr. George Mosse Norton was William Norton, son of the original Jonathan Norton. William Norton married Mary Godfrey, and like, Dr. Mosse, removed in later life from the Island of St. Helena, to Savannah. One of his sons. the great- grandfather of the present Dr. Norton, was Robert Godfrey Norton, who was a soldier of the Continental line during the Revolutionary war. Robert Godfrey Norton married his cousin. Sarah Mosse, and most of his life was spent at Robertville. South Carolina. One of their sous was Dr. Alexander Norton, grandfather of Dr. George Mosse Norton. For a number of years Dr. Alexander Norton practiced medicine in the city and was the first official port physician of Savannah. He married Miss Julia Green, and after living for a number of years in Robertville, after the elose of the Civil war, he again returned to Savannah and died here in 1869.
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Dr. Robert Godfrey Norton was born in Robertville, South Carolina, on the 17th of March, 1841, and died in Savannah in 1900. He was a graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Baltimore, and also of the Charleston Medical College, and was one of the leading physicians in Savannah for many years. He was married in 1861 to Martha Jane Edwards, of Effingham county, Georgia, and they became the parents of the following children : Fannie Cone, who is now the wife of Gordan L. Groover, of Savannah: Robert G .: William Edwards; George Mosse, and Walter Abell. The latter is a physician and is practicing medicine in Savannah. Dr. William Edwards Norton, who was also a physician of Savannah, died in this city in March. 1911.
Dr. George Mosse Norton was reared iu Savannah and was edueated in the public schools of his home eity and in the University of Georgia. at Athens. He studied medicine in the Southern Medical College at Atlanta, Georgia, from which he was graduated in the elass of 1898. Two years later he went to New York City. where he took post-graduate work in the New York Post-Graduate Medical School. He then began his practice in Savannah and soon became one of the successful members of his profession in the city. He has continued to build up a large general practice. but of late years he has turned his attention more directly to surgery. He is a member of the Georgia and the American Medical Associations, and is a member of the staff of Park View Sana- tarium. In his fraterual relations he is a member of the Masons and the Elks. For several years he was an active member of the Georgia Hussars, in which he was surgeon with the rank of lieutenant. He was awarded a medal for horsemanship by the Hussars in 1899.
The eity of Savannah is noted for its historie old mansions, and the home of Dr. Norton is one of the most notable. It was originally built by Joseph Waldburg as a home for his family, and after his death it was oeeupied for many years by his son-in-law, Colonel Clinch. a native of South Carolina. The house is an example of that substantial style of architecture used by men of wealth in a former age, when timber was plentiful, and veneer was unknown. The walls of the house are more than two feet thick, and the brick of which it is built is all rosined as are the hardwood floors. The ceilings, walls, partitions and other inside wood work are all of the costliest and most durable mate- rials. The interior furnishings, decorations and the wonderful ehande- liers were all imported from Europe and most of these still remain to add to the artistic beauty of the house itself. A delightful garden on the Barnard street side of the house is in keeping with the rest. and on the west side is another garden which affords a charming playground for the children. The property has one hundred and twenty feet of frontage on Oglethorpe avenue, and from a financial standpoint is one of the most valuable in the city. The house is built with two stories and a basement, containing many rooms of the generous proportions that our ancestors enjoyed. It cost $55.000 and required three years and a half in building.
Doctor Norton was married in Savannah, October 6. 1902, to Miss Leila Exley, daughter of Marquis L. and Emma N. (Grovenstein ) Exley. They have four children: Elizabeth Emna. Leila Lucile, Angela Willie, and George Mosse. Jr.
ALFRED KENT. The life of a good and just man and the record of his deeds are in themselves the purest biography, and in this connec- tion something more than a simple announcement is due to the memory of one who was known to everyone in Savannah for his kindness and generosity to his fellow men, the late Alfred Kent. His talents as a
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business man made him a conspicuous figure in the commercial world of his native city, and he might have risen to a place of prominence in public life had his modesty not forbidden, but it is rather as a kindly, charitable philanthropist and true Sonthern gentleman that he is remem- bered by his fellow-townsmen, and he has left to his descendants the heritage of an honorable name and one on which there is not the slightest stain or blemish. Mr. Kent was born March 31, 1823, on West Broad street, opposite the head of St. Julian street, this part of the city hav- ing been the home of the Kent family since the early part of the nine- teenth century. His parents were Ezra and Harriet ( Vallotton) Kent, the latter having been the daughter of James Vallotton of South Caro- lina. Ezra Kent was born in Rhode Island in 1793 and came to Savan- nah about 1819. He was a wheelwright by trade and established in 1820 the business that was after his death continued by his son. After the custom of earlier days, the home and the shop were adjacent, and during all the years that the wheelwright and carriage business was carried on by the Kents, father and son, the work place adjoined the residence on West Broad street. This residence (No. 35 West Broad street ), which until recently was occupied as a home by William Alfred Kent, the son of Alfred Kent, is one of the historic structures of Savan- nah. It is one hundred and fifty years old, one of the oldest houses in the city, and adjoining it on the south is the house in which President Monroe was entertained in May, 1819. It was moved in 1845 to its present location by Ezra Kent from the site where now stands Trinity Methodist church, on the west side of Telfair place, and still bears in its front the hole made by a cannon ball from Count d'Estaing's fleet during the siege of Savannah in 1779.
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