A history of Savannah and South Georgia, Volume II, Part 43

Author: Harden, William, 1844-1936
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1208

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JOHN DAVID BOZEMAN. A well known and prosperous agriculturist of Brooks county, John David Bozeman has for nearly forty years been successfully engaged in his independent and useful occupation, his estate being situated three miles north of Quitman, on the Tallokas road, and being considered one of the most attractive in the vicinity. He was born October 26, 1836, in Jefferson county, Florida, a son of David Bozeman.

His paternal grandfather, Luke Bozeman, was born, it is supposed, in Maryland, where the name was formerly spelled Boseman, a form still retained by some members of the family. Migrating southward. he settled in Twiggs county, Georgia, as a pioneer. Georgia was then a frontier state, Indians being far more numerous than whites. Pur- chasing a tract of wild land. he reclaimed a homestead from the forest. and there spent the remainder of his years. He married Sarah Mann. who was also a native of Maryland. and to them five sons and three daughters were born as follows: Elizabeth, Dorothy, David, James, Luke, William and Eldred.

Born and reared in Twiggs county, Georgia, his birth occurring February 16, 1794, David Bozeman grew to manhood on the home farm. for many years assisting in its management. About 1830, accompanied by his brother-in-law. Solomon Mathews, and by Thomas Mathews. and their families. he removed to Florida. They made the trip with ox teams, taking along their household goods and stock, cooking and eamp- ing by the wayside, each night some of the men standing guard against the raids of Indians. They all located in Jefferson county, being among the earliest settlers of that place. For many years thereafter there were no railways in either Georgia or Florida. the people living in a very primitive style, with few conveniences of any kind. Their first act almost was to build a stockade or fort of logs, to which the women and children could flee when the dusky savages started on a raid. Taking part in the Indian war of 1836, David Bozeman served as first lieuten- ant of his company.

Soon after locating in Jefferson county, David Bozeman purchased from the government one hundred and sixty acres of land, and on it built of round logs the house which the family occupied a few years, when a substantial frame house was erected in its place. The nearest markets and trading points were Tallahassee and Port Leon, thirty-five iniles distant, and all surplus productions of the land were hauled there by ox teams. He, in common with all of the pioneers, labored hard, in addition to tilling the land tanning the skins and making the shoes for the family, for several years using coon skins, while his wife did her cooking by the fireplace, and in addition to her other domestie duties used to card, spin and weave the material from which she fashioned all the garments worn by the family. On the farm which he cleared and improved, he lived until his death, February 16, 1848.

David Bozeman was twice married. He married first Sarah Mann. who lost her life by accident. having been burned to death. Hle mar- ried second, Catherine Barr, who was born in Florida, where her parents were among the first English speaking settlers. She died at the age of thirty-five years, while two of her brothers also lived to a very advanced age, Thomas Barr attaining the age of ninety-six years. and Rodger Barr living to the age of eighty-seven years. By his first marriage David Bozeman reared six children, as follows: Elisha Ward: Caro- line and Mary Ann, twins; Luke: Elizabeth Mann ; and Celia. By his second marriage he became the father of two children, JJohn David and Sarah Ann.

When John David Bozeman was six years of age his parents located Vol. II-19

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in the southern part of Jefferson county, about six miles from Monti- cello. In those days the wild beasts of the forest had not fled before the advancing steps of civilization, but, with the red skins, habited the vast wilderness. He was twelve years old when his father died, and from that time until nineteen years of age he lived with his oldest brother, Elisha Ward Bozeman. Beginning the battle of life then on his own account, he secured a position in a livery stable, receiving in addition to his board twenty dollars a month wages, the stable being located in Thomasville. At that time Brooks county had not been formed, the country roundabout being very thinly settled, and Troupville was then the county seat of Lowndes county. From 1854 until 1856 Mr. Bozeman drove a hack from Thomasville to Monticello, Troupville, and other points. In 1856 he began to learn the cabinet maker's trade, serving an apprenticeship of six months. Desirous then of learning the car- penter's trade, he entered the employ of John Wind, of the firm of Bowen Brothers & Wind, and worked on the Thomas county court house.

In April, 1859, when Quitman was platted, Mr. Bozeman settled in the new town as its first carpenter, and built for himself a log house in the southern part of the place. Early in 1862 he enlisted from Thomas county, in the company known as the "Seventeenth Patriot's," which was attached to the Twenty-ninth Georgia Volunteer Infantry, and became a part of the western army. He fought under General Bragg, Johnston, and Hood. After the battle of Nashville, the regiment was sent to Virginia, thence to North Carolina, where, on April 26, 1865, at Greensboro, it surrendered.

Returning to his home in Quitman, Mr. Bozeman was here engaged in carpentering until 1873, when he assumed possession of the land which he had previously purchased, it being located on the Tallokas road, three miles north of Quitman. By dint of hard work and good management he has here cleared and improved a valuable farm, having been very successful in his agricultural operations. His improvements are of an excellent character, including the erection of a good set of farm buildings, his house being most pleasantly situated in a grove composed of various kinds of forest trees, and being set well back from the street.

In July 1, 1858, Mr. Bozeman was united in marriage with Sarah Blanche Lewis, who was born in what is now Brooks county, Georgia, October 27, 1840. Her father, Irvin J. Lewis, was born in Bulloch county, Georgia, where his parents were early settlers. Left an orphan at an early age, he was reared by his uncle, Abner Groover, a pioneer of that part of Thomas county now ineluded in Brooks county, it then having been an extreme frontier county. He was brought up on a farm, and on attaining manhood purchased land lying seven miles northwest of Quitman, and on the farm which he cleared he spent the remainder of his life. Mr. Lewis married Susan Thigpin, who was born in Wilkes county, Georgia. a daughter of Rev. Meles Thigpin, a preacher in the Primitive Baptist church. On coming from North Carolina, his native state, to Georgia, Mr. Thigpin lived first in Wilkes county, later becom- ing one of the original settlers of what is now Brooks county. Seeuring four hundred and ten acres of land, ten miles north of the present site of Quitman. he cleared a large plantation, and was there engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death. The maiden name of his wife was Sarah Whaley, Irvin J. and Susan (Thigpin) Lewis reared six children, as follows: Mary: Sarah Blanche, now Mrs. Bozeman; Caro- line; Janie; Valeria ; and Wiley Miles.

Mr. and Mrs. Bozeman have reared eight children, namely: Irvin Elisha (the first child born in Quitman) ; Alice P .; John D .; Willie L .;

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Christopher L .; Susan; James C .; and Lewis I. Irvin E. married Mar- tha Young, and they have three children, Evelyn, Francis, and Janie C. Willie married Houston 1. Young, and they are the parents of four children, Lucretia, Tinly, Flavious, and Everett. Christopher married Lillie Oliff. Susan, wife of Frank M. Mathews, has four children, Joel, John B., Alice and Frank M. Janie, who married W. C. Parker. died leaving one daughter, Mary Blanche. John David. Jr., who became a lieutenant in the local militia, died in Jacksonville, Florida, aged twenty; seven years.

Politieally Mr. Bozeman has always been a Democrat. He cast his first vote for governor in favor of Ben Hill, and gave his first presi- dential vote to Jolm C. Breekinridge. Both he and Mrs. Bozeman are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, South.

Mr. Bozeman and Mr. Clinton Groover are the only living settlers now among the pioneers of this county.

WILLIAM NELSON CRANE. A man of good business capacity. intelli- gent and enterprising, William Nelson Crane holds high rank among the extensive and prosperous agriculturists of Brooks county, his well ap- pointed estate being situated about six miles from Quitman, on the Tallokas road. A native of Brooks county, he was born October 26, 1859, on the farm of his father. Ephriam Thayer Crane. He comes of Revolutionary stock, and is the descendant of a New England family of prominenee and worth, being a lineal descendant of the immigrant ancestor, Henry Crane, the lineage being thus traeed: Henry1 Crane, Ebenezere Crane, Abijah3 Crane, Abijah Barry+ Crane, Ephraim Thayer? Crane, and William Nelson" Crane.

Henry1 Crane was born in England in 1621, and died in Massachu- setts in 1709. Ile was twiee married, the maiden name of his second wife, from whom William Nelson Crane is descended, having been Elizabeth Kinstry. Their son. Ebenezer? Crane, born in East Milton, Massachusetts, August 10, 1665, married Mary Tolman, a native of Dor- chester, Massachusetts. Abijah3 Crane, born in Milton, Massachusetts, November 2, 1841, was a member of the party that, on December 16, 1773, threw the tea overboard in Boston Harbor, and was a brother of Col. John Crane, of Revolutionary fame. He married first Sarah Field, of Braintree, Massachusetts, and married second Sarah Beverly. Abijah Barry+ Crane, a life-long resident of Massachusetts, was born August 24, 1777, in Boston, and died in 1854, in Medfield. The maiden name of his wife was Rachel Hatch Curtis.

Ephraim Thayer" Crane was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1816. Brought up and edneated in his native city, he remained in Boston until about eigliteen years of age, when, following the southward course of migration, he eame to Georgia, locating in Savannah, where he found employment in the gun factory owned by Ned Lovell. A few years later he settled in what is now Brooks county, and having purchased a traet of land lying ten miles north of the present site of Quitman engaged not only in farming, but in the manufacture of fire-arms. He built up a substantial business, and continued his residence on the farm which he improved until his death, at the advanced age of eighty-two years. Ile married Mary Wilson, who was born in Brooks county, Georgia, a daughter of Jeremiah and Betty (Lueas) Wilson. of whom a more extended record may be found on another page of this work. in connection with the sketch of JJoseph D. Wilson. She survived him, passing away at the age of four score and four years. Four children were born of their marriage, as follows: Abijah Barry Crane, who lost his life in the Confederate service; Julia E .: Isabelle; and William Nelson.

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William Nelson" Crane was reared in Brooks county, educated in the rural schools, and carly in life chose the free and independent occupation of his aneestors. Inheriting one hundred and fifty acres of the parental estate, located in the western part of the county, he was there prosperously employed in tilling the soil until 1897. Selling out in that year, Mr. Crane purchased his present fine property. which con- sists of four hundred acres of rich and fertile land, situated six miles north of Quitman, on the Tallokas road. Continuing his agricultural labors, he has met with most satisfactory results as a general farmer, each year reaping abundant harvests.

Mr. Crane married, in 1880, Annie M. Folsom. a danghter of Thomas and Victoria (Williams) Folsom. She was born in Brooks county, and here spent her entire life, her death occurring on the home farm in 1909. To them the following children were born: Eugene Thomas, who died at the age of eighteen years; Luey; Ettie; Myrtie; Annie May; and William Bennett. Lucy, wife of A. J. Moran died in 1912, leaving three children. Gladys, Glenn, and Mary Lee. Ettie married Bluford Smith, and they have one child, Bluford Smith, Jr. Mr. Crane belongs to the Primitive Baptist church, of which Mrs. Crane was also an active and valued member.

ALPHA C. BERRY. Prominent among the enterprising, self-reliant. and progressive men who are so ably conducting the agricultural inter- ests of Brooks county is Alpha C. Berry, a suceessful farmer living about five miles from Quitman, on the Tallokas road. A son of Rev. Joseph Festus Berry, he was born June 6, 1869, in Marshalltown, Iowa.

His grandfather Berry, was born in Stanton, Virginia, where his father located on coming to this country. An energetic. enterprising young man, he decided to begin life for himself in a newer part of the country, and. foreseeing in a measure the great development awaiting the then far West, he migrated to Illinois, settling in Washington county. Possessing excellent business ability and judgment, he became an ex- tensive dealer in real estate, buying and selling several farms, always at a profit. He lived to the venerable age of ninety years.

The birth of Joseph Festus Berry occurred in Washington eounty, Illinois, in 1840. Brought up on a farm he acquired his preliminary education in the distriet schools, this being supplemented with a course of study at Bethany College, in Bethany, West Virginia. After his graduation from that institution he taught in the public schools of Illi- nois for a time. Ordained, at the age of thirty years, a minister in the Christian church, he preached for a short time in New York state, and subsequently taught school and held pastorates in Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas. Coming to Georgia in the spring of 1886, Rev. Mr. Berry began his ministerial labors in Lowndes county, where he organized several Christian churches, including the one at Pine Grove, and also organized the Christian church at Quitman. Going to Missouri in 1907 he resided first in the Ozark region, moving from there to Dexter, Missouri, he was there a resident until his death in 1910. His wife, whose maiden name was Maria Parmley, was born in Warren, Ohio. and died in 1910, surviving him but one month. Seven children were born of their union, as follows: Alpha C., the subject of this sketch ; Elpie Grace, of Little Rock, Arkansas: Dollie May lived but ten years; Scott, now an instruc- tor at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, and a man of bril- liant mental attainments. earned as a student an international scholar- ship, which entitled him to a year's schooling in Germany and five hundred dollars in cash ; Leslie Lee, a graduate of the Missouri Agri- cultural College, in Columbia, Missouri, is now one of the leading agri-

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culturists and horticulturists of Dexter, Missouri; Milton, engaged in the grocery business at Denver, Colorado; and Bessie, residing at Little Rock, Arkansas.

After his graduation from the Valdosta Academy, in Valdosta, Georgia, Alpha C. Berry turned his attention to agriculture, for which he had a natural taste and aptitude. He first purchased. in Brooks county, two hundred and fifty acres of land lying two miles from Quit- man, on the Morven road. Seven years later he sold at an advantage, and bought an estate of five hundred aeres situated two miles north- east of Quitman. Ninety acres of the tract was under cultivation, and he improved one hundred more, and lived there seven years. Selling then, Mr. Berry purchased what was known as the Tom Folsom place, it being on the Tallokas road, five miles from Quitman, and here he has since been actively engaged in general farming and stock raising. His large and valuable estate contains nine hundred aeres of land, two hun- dred and seventy-five of which he has under culture, while one hundred and fifty acres are covered with a magnificent growth of oak. hickory, pine, gum, poplar and ash timber. the remainder being covered with young pines. In the development and improvement of his land. Mr. Berry finds both pleasure and profit, his labors being well rewarded.

On January 3, 1894, Mr. Berry was united in marriage with Lillie Wilson, a danghter of Jeremiah and Delilah (Robinson) Wilson, of whom a more extended account may be found elsewhere in this volume, in connection with the sketch of Joseph D. Wilson. Mr. and Mrs. Berry are the parents of two children, namely : Julia and Delilah.

Religiously both Mr. and Mrs. Berry are consistent members of the Christian church. Mr. Berry is a member of the Hickory Head Club, an association of farmers organized in 1899.

ALBERT C. SWEAT. One of the ablest newspaper editors and managers in south Georgia is the present proprietor of the Nashville Herald. Mr. Sweat has been identified with the newspaper business nearly all his life, learning the art of sticking type when he was a boy, and through his own efforts and ability rising from the case to the chair of editor and owner.

He was born in Pierce county, this state. on the 7th of March. 1871. His only sister, Sally, the wife of J. A. Wade of Douglas, Georgia.

Owing to circunstances, Albert C. began earning his own way when a boy fifteen years of age, and his subsequent prosperity and influential position have been the result of his own endeavors. He first learned telegraphy, but was too young to be accepted as an operator, and for this reason he turned from what might have been a life vocation to employment in the office of the Blackshear Georgian, a weekly paper. There he learned the use of the composing stick, and in 1889, at the age of eighteen, became foreman for the Douglas Breeze, the first newspaper ever issued in Douglas. In a short time he became manager and editor of this paper and conducted it for six years. He also edited the Jesup Sentinel one year for Capt. Ben Miliken. Mr. Sweat then went to Texas and in 1899, with two associates, established a daily paper, the Morning Sun, at Denison. After a year he sold his interest in that publication, and, returning to Georgia, was engaged in publishing the Sparks Enter- prise in Berrien county until December, 1903. At that date he removed his plaut to Nashville and established the Herald, of which he is the sole owner, and which he has made successful as a business enterprise and influential among a large circle of readers. In 1912. Mr. Sweat erected at Nashville what is known as the Herald building, the first three-story structure in town. The two upper floors are used as au

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opera house, and the first floor is the home of the Herald and its job printing establishment. This handsome brick building, occupying ground thirty-three by ninety feet, is a credit to the enterprise of its builder and to the growing importance of Nashville as a center of population and commerce.

In Berrien county and elsewhere Mr. Sweat has always been an active and useful citizen. He is chairman of the board of county com- missioners, is the present city clerk of Nashville, and has served in the city council and on the school board. He is also chairman of the Demo- eratie exeentive committee of Berrien county. Fraternally he affiliates with Nashville Lodge No. 243, F. & A. M., the lodges of Woodmen of the World, Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias, at Nashville, and the Tifton lodge of Elks.

In April. 1891, he married Miss Annie Glover. Mrs. Sweat is a native of Polk county, this state. They are the parents of four children, named Hoke, Glyds, Kate and Clifford. Mr. and Mrs. Sweat are mem- bers of the Methodist church at Nashville.

JUDGE JAMES B. HICKS. The career of James B. Hicks, attorney, judge, legislator, business man and all around good eitizen, is one that one may contemplate with all pleasure and nothing of opposing senti- ment. A straightforward statement of the facts of his progress from the rural districts which represented his home to his present high place in the social economie fabrie of the county of which he is a resident can- not fail to prove of interest, and the record of his life thus far is here set forth, devoid of all attempt at embellishment or adormment of what- ever variety.

James B. Hicks was born in Wrightsville, Georgia, on February 28, 1870, and he is a son of Dr. Henry and Naney ( Wright) Hieks. The father, long a practicing physician in his district, was born on the 15th of September. 1832, and died on June 24, 1900. The birth of the mother occurred on September 23, 1841, and she survived her husband some five years, passing away on April 27, 1905. Both were natives of John- son county. The father served as a surgeon during the Civil war with the Confederate army, with Johnson's Grays, and four of his brothers also served in that regiment.

When James B. Hicks was five years old his parents moved to Laurens county, and there they lived on a farm for ten years. The boy attended the district schools during that time, and when he was fifteen the family moved to Milledgeville, Georgia, in order that the children might have greater educational advantages, school facilities in their former home district being of a limited nature. He attended school at Milledgeville in the Middle Georgia Military and Agricultural College for two years, and thereafter attended Mereer University at Macon, Georgia. He was graduated from the university in 1892 with his bachelor's degree, and came almost immediately to Dublin, where he took service with his bro- ther, who was a member of the drug firm of the HI. Hicks & Company, in the capacity of collector. After a year at this work he went to Atlanta, Georgia, where he read law under Hines. Sumubrick & Felder for a year, and in 1893 he was admitted to the bar. He returned to Dublin at that time and began the practice of law. a profession in which he has experienced an mmusually fair degree of success. He has taken a prominent place in the public eye. and his service as mayor of Dublin for two forms. 1899 and 1900, was one of the greatest values to the city. In 1902, Mr. Hieks was elected to the state legislature as a representa- tive from his county, and something of the standing he enjoys in the county may be gleaned from the facts that of five candidates in the

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race for the legislative offices, with two to be elected, of two thousand, six hundred votes polled. Mr. Hicks received every vote in the county with the exception of about three hundred. IIe served through the years of 1902. 1903 and 1904, in the Georgia legislature, and was one of the several men who voted to change the legislative session from fall to summer.

After his nomination to the legislative offiee in 1902 Mr. Hicks was siezed with an attack of nervous indigestion, which elnng persistently to him all through his legislative career, and so impaired his general health that when he left the legislature he repaired to his farm in the eounty and there continued for some time. He kept up a part of his law practice, however, during that time. spending a part of his time on the farm until 1911. On November 10th of that year he was appointed by Governor Hoke Smith as judge of the city court of Dublin to fill out the unexpired term of Judge K. J. Hawkins, who had been promoted to the bench of the superior courts of the Dublin cireuit. In 1912. Mr. Hicks was a candidate for the judgeship for a full term, and made an excellent run for the nomination, being nominated by a majority of three hundred and forty-seven votes over the highest opponent. He was elected to the office and is now giving service in his capacity as judge.

Judge Hicks is a prominent Mason, with a membership in the blue lodge and the Royal Arch Masons. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He still retains membership in the Kappa Sigma, his eollege fraternity, and is a member of the Christian church. Among many other interests of Judge Hieks, he has continued to retain his identity with the agricultural aetiv- ities of the eounty and is the owner of something like seventeen hundred aeres of fine land.

Judge Hieks was one of the six children of his parents, all of whom are living with the exeeption of B. G. Hieks, who died at the early age of nineteen years, at Milledgeville, Georgia. The others are: Mrs. Leslie Kennedy, of Dublin; Mrs. Mabel A. Warthen, of Bartow. Georgia ; Talmadge M., a praetieing attorney of Dublin ; and R. P., who is engaged in farming in the vieinity of Wrightsville, Georgia. The father raised a family by an earlier marriage and those children are Frances, Eliza- beth and John W .. both deceased: and Thomas B .. of Dublin, Georgia.

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A history of Savannah and South Georgia, Volume II, Part 43

Author: Harden, William, 1844-1936 Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1208

Author: Harden, William, 1844-1936
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1208