USA > Georgia > Georgia's public men 1902-1904 > Part 11
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HON. A. B. MITCHUM.
A UGUSTUS BOLIVAR MITCHUM, Representative from Clayton county, is by occupation a merchant and cotton buyer. Mr. Mitchum was born in Fayette county, Georgia, on the 22d of March, 1858, and is the son of W. W. and Catherine Mitchum.
On November 12, 1885. Mr. Mitchum was married to Miss Fan- nie E. Curry. They have an inter- esting family of children-Nellie C .. Bessie. Frank A. and A. B. Mitchum Jr. Mr. Mitchum is another of the new members of the House who has never before held public office. It was only through the solicitations of his friends that he consented to allow the use of his name for the position he now fills. He is serving on the following committees: Penitentiary, Public Property, Special Agriculture. Ways and Means.
HON. W. R. WELCH.
W ESTERN R. WELCH, Rep- resentative from Gilmer County. is one of the pa- triarchs of the House. He was born in Waynesville, Hay- wood County, North Carolina. on the 7th day of August, 1829.
Mr. Welch moved to Ellijay. Gil- mer County. early in the year 1850 and engaged in the mercantile busi- iless at that place. He was also connected with a company which prospected for copper. The corpo- ration was very successful in its work and discovered and developed a valuable mine in Fannin county. Mr. Welch enlisted in the Confederate service about the 1st of June, 1861.
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as Captain of Company D of the Eleventh Georgia Volunteers. Sometime during the year 1862 was promoted to be major of that regiment and later was discharged from the service because of physical disability. He was a brave soldier and able officer and was very popular with his men.
Mr. Welch has had extensive experience in the House having been elected for his first term in 1878. After an absence of twenty years he was again elected in 1900 and re-elected this year. He is serving on several of the most important committees of the House, among them being: Blind Asylum : Corporations : Georgia School for the Deaf: Penitentiary ; Railroads; Special Judiciary. His long experience in legislative work makes him a valuable member and one in whose hands the interests of his county are well cared for.
HON. L. L. STANFORD.
L YCURGUS L. STANFORD, lawyer and farmer, Hamil- ton, Harris County, Georgia, son of Nehemiah and Eliza- beth (Wyatt) Stanford, was born in Putnam County, Georgia. in 1831. His paternal great-grand- parents, Joshua and Elizabeth (MeGhee) Stanford, were natives of England and Scotland respective- ly, whence, with a brother of his, they emigrated to this country with Lord Cecil, and settled on the east- ern shore of Chesapeake bay. Joshua Stanford was a soldier in the patriot army during the Revolution- ary War. was captured and impris- oned on a man-of-war for six months. His brother emigrated south to one of the Carolinas. Mr. Stan- ford's paternal grandparents-Levin and Eleanor (McGhee) Stanford-were born on the eastern shore of Chesapeake bay, Maryland; migrated to Georgia in 1800 and settled in Warren county. whence. in 1808, they moved to Putnam county, where they lived until they died. Mr. Stanford's father was born in Warren county in 1803. and was reared a farmer, which was his life-pursuit. He was a boy when his father moved to Putnam county, where he lived until 1859, when he moved to Murray county, Georgia, where he lived until he died.
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in 1879. Mr. Stanford's grandparents were Sylvestre and Sarah ( Mills) Wyatt. Sylvester Wyatt came to this country from England before the Revolu- tionary war, and settled in North Carolina; was on the committee which drafted the ordinance of separation from Great Britain, and was a soldier in the patriot army during the war for independence. Some years afterward he moved to Paducah, Ky., where he died in 1854. Mr. Stanford was reared on a farm and received his primary education at Jefferson Academy in Putnam county. He afterward attended Maryville College, Maryville, Tenn., from which he was graduated in 1854. In 1857 he was chosen president of the Ham- ton Female College, and later went to Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tenn., from the law department of which he graduated in 1859. In 1862 he enlisted in Company B (Capt. B. A. Thornton). Third Georgia Cavalry, and after serving two months was commissioned as Captain of Company K, same regiment. With his command he participated in many engagements, some of them bloody and important. Among them: Bridgeport, Vinegar Hill. Munfordville, Perryville, Crab Orchard, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Resaca. At the last named battle ( May 14, 1864) he was captured and sent to John- son's Island, where he was detained as a prisoner for about thirteen months, reaching home after his release, in July, 1865. He at once entered upon the practice of law, and has uninterruptedly pursued it since, growing in reputa- tion, with a elientage all the time gradually increasing in volume, value and influence. In 1868 he was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention, and in 1877 was elected to represent his county in the General Assembly, and again in 1881.
Mr. Stanford was married in 1854 to Miss Maggie, daughter of John and Sarah ( Smith) Henry. of East Tennessee. She died in 1858. leaving two sons-John C., who died in 1879, aged ?4, and William H., who died in 1893, aged 26. Her father was a native Virginian and a near relative of Patrick Henry. the eloquent Virginia patriot. Later in life he moved to Tennessee. where he became very prominent. In 1859 Mr. Stanford married Miss Maggie A. Passmore-born in Harris county in 1836-daughter of James and Nancy (Lester) Passmore. She died in 1862, leaving one living child. Maggie, wife of J. A. Brawner. In 1865, for his third wife. he married Miss Marietta Walker-born in Muscogee county, Georgia, in 1836-daughter of James and Lucinda (Ferguson) Walker. She died early in 1882, leaving one child, Lycurgus W. Late in the same year Mr. Stanford was married to Miss Eliza C. Walker, sister of his last wife, by whom he has had one child, James L. He is an enthusiastic member of the Masonic fraternity and Worshipful Master of the local lodge. IIe and his wife are members of the Methodist church. In 1894 Mr. Stanford was a prominent candidate for Congress from the Fourth district, and in the convention held at Warm Springs. Ga .. August
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13-16, was only defeated on the 365th ballot by Hon. C. L. Moses of Coweta County. Mr. Stanford is one of the active politicians of the State, and is now, and has been since its organization, president commander of Harris County. Georgia, Camp Confederate Veterans. In the present House Mr. Stanford is on the following committees: General Judiciary, Ways and Means, School for the Deaf and Dumb, Special Soldiers' Home Committee.
HON. E. R. JONES.
E DWIN RUST JONES, Rep- resentative from Dougherty county, was born in Albany in 1865. ITis family has been prom- inent in Georgia for many years, and this member has done much to add lustre to the name.
After studying in the public schools of Albany. Mr. Jones en- tered the law department of the University of Georgia in 1883. In 1885 he was admitted to the bar in Madison, Morgan county, and has since been engaged in the active practice of his profession.
In 1888 Mr. Jones became desir- ous of trying his fortune in the West. Ile located in Alberquerue. New Mexico, where he remained for some time. After several years he returned to Georgia and took up his residence again in Albany, where he has since resided.
Since returning to Albany he has established a splendid law practice and has been prominently connected with some of the most important litigation in that section. He has also successfully engaged in the real estate business in Albany.
Mr. Jones was elected to the House in 1892 without opposition, and was again eeleted in 1894. Il ehas always taken a prominent part in the delib- erations of the House and is conceded to be one of its strongest members.
During his service in the Legislatuer Mr. Jones has been the author of some of the most important measures that have become laws of the State. IIe
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has a host of friends in the General Assembly and has great influence among his colleagues.
His recognizd ability and extended legislative experiece le dto Mr. Jones' appointment on a number of the most important committees of the House. Ile is serving as chairman of the Committee on Banks and Banking, and is also a member of the followin: Education, General Judiciary, Military Affairs, Penitentiary Railroads, Ways and Means.
HON. J. J. CONNER.
J AMES J. CONNER, Repre- sentative from Bartow coun- ty, is serving his first term in the House, and is also having his first experience in public office. Mr. Conner was born in Montgomery county, Georgia, on November 26, 1847, the son of Thomas G. and Sarah Ann Wall Conner. He was deprived of the advantage of a fin- ished education on account of the exigencies of the war, and received his training in the school of expe- rience and self-effort. Ile was mar- ried November 9, 1875, to Miss Luey C. Ryals, of Bartow county, and to them have been born seven children-Thomas B., James R .. Mary E., Robert E., Ley C., Annabelle and Harry.
In his early manhood Mr. Conner read law and was admitted to the bar, remaining in the active ranks of successful lawyers until 1885. when the sedentary life of the office began to make inroads on his health and he re- tired to the farm. He has been a successful farmer and an earnest worker to advance the agricultural interests of the State. In 1889 he was elected to a vice-presidency of the State Agricultural Society for the Seventh Con- gressional District, and continued in that capacity until last year. when he was elected General Vice-President. He was one of the superintendents at the State Fair in Savannah in 1901, and held a similar position at the fair
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in Valdosta recently. Mr. Conner was the first President of the Board of Trustees of the Cherokee Baptist Institute at Adairsville and has given much time and attention to the interests of the school.
During the present session he is serving on various House committees, among them being the committee on General Agriculture, the Georgia School for the Deaf. and the Committee on Special Agriculture, of which he is chairman.
HON. E. T. STEED.
E UGENE T. STEED, Repre- sentative from the county of Carroll, is of Scotch- Irish descent, and was born at Lime- ville. Clay county, Alabama, on the 5th of May, 1866. He received a common school education in the schools of that place and later taught in the public schools of Jackson and Lincoln parishes for four years. In 1890 he entered the famous Pea- body Normal Institute in Nashville, Tenn .. graduating therefrom in 1892 with the degree of L. I. The following year. Mr. Steed graduated from the University of Nashville with the degree of A. B., and in August of the same year was mar- ried to Miss Nannie Lee Emmert of Bluff City, Tenn.
Mr. Steed came to Georgia as principal of the Villa Rica High School in the fall of 1894, and continued in that capacity for seven years, building up that worthy institution until it took rank a> second to no school of similar character in that section of the State. In 1901 he resigned this position to devote his energies to a business career. He entered the mercantile business in Villa Rica, also devoting part of his time and attention to his farming in- terests in that county.
In recognition of his value to the community, Mr. Steed was this year put forward by his fellow citizens for representative and received a handsome majority in the primary and later led the ticket at the election. He is a prominent member of the Methodist church and takes an active part in its
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work. This is the first political venture, and his friends, bearing in mind his qualifieations for intelligent and active legislative work. predict for him a bright future. By appointment of the Speaker he is serving on several com- mittees, among them being the committees on Counties and County Matters : Public Printing ; Special Agriculture: University of Georgia and its Branches and Ways and Means.
HON. J. A. HIXON.
J AMES A. HIXON, Represen- tative from Sumter County, was born October 22, 1868, near Ellaville. Schley County, Georgia. the son of James B. and Hattie Belle Hixon. He grad- uated from the law department of the State University in 1888 and has since been engaged in the practice of law in Americus in which place he located after graduation. Mr. Hixon has served his people as County Attorney. Judge of the County Court and three terms as mayor of the City of AAmericus. He was married to Miss Leila Watts. of Americus. on November 30. 1892, and by this union there has been
born one child, Ilartie Belle.
Mr. Hixon's publie carcer has been very successful. He was appointed by Governor Northen, to the Judgeship of the County Court without solicitation and held the position a year. AAfter tendering his resignation a> judge he was elected to the mayoralty of Amerieus, until he refused to stand for another term. He was prevailed upon to stand for the Legislature this year, and was easily elected. Although this is his first term, he came well equipped for leg- islative work, and is already a recognized leader in the House. He has been a successful practitioner at the bar and is looked upon as one of the strongest lawyers in the State. He has been appointed by Speaker Morris to serve on the following committees: Amendments to Constitution. General Judiciary. Railroads. University of Georgia and its Branches.
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HON. W. T. LANE.
W. T. LANE, Representative from Sumter, is serving ยท his third term in the House of Representatives. He was born on a farm in Jasper county on July 11, 1864, the son of Major A. W. Lane and Mrs. Mary J. Lane. He was married at Shellnian, Ga., October 4, 1894. to Miss Massie Ter- rell Crittenden, and they have three children-Wm. T., Robert C., Ralph Augustus. Mr. Lane graduated from the law department of the Univer- sity of Georgia with the class of 1888. and served a term as mayor of Monticello before locating in Americus, his present home.
He has been appointed to serve on these committees during this session : Banks and Banking, Military Af- fairs, Mines and Mining, Special Judiciary, State of the Republic.
HON. S. S. GAULDEN.
S AMUEL
SCRIVEN GAUL- DEN, Representative from Brooks county, was born in the historic town of Lumpkin, in Stew- art county, from which place have gone forth many men who have won for themselves more than a local reputation and a name. The date of his birth was October 22. 1859. His parents were Charles S. and Char- lotte LeSeuer Gaulden, who were among the most prominent residents of Stewart county for quite a num- ber of years.
Dr. Gaulden was married at Quit- man. Ga .. December 20. 1887, to Miss Tillie O. McCall of that place, a member of the well-known family of that name that has furnished Brooks county with prominent citizens for
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many years. They have four children-Guy C., William J., Albert E. and Edna Earl.
The preparatory education of Dr. Gaulden was obtained in the common schools of his home county, and he afterwards entered Mercer University. graduating therefrom in 1879, and taking his AA. M. degree there. He studied medicine at the Medical School of the University of Maryland, taking his degree of M. D. in 1886.
Dr. Gaulden is a prominent member of the Baptist church iu Quitman and is an active participant in Christian work. He enjoys a large and lucrative practice in Quitman and surrounding territory, and is one of the leading physicians of that section. He has also served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Georgia State Sanitarium.
Dr. Gaulden is a member of the committees on Enrollment. Internal Im- provements, Invalid Pensions. Mines and Mining.
HON. S. R. FIELDS.
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S IMEON RUSSELL FIELDS. Representative from Dooly County. was born on his father's farm in that county. on May 28. 1822. His father was Rev. James R. Fields, who was a well-known Baptist minister in that section of the State. Mr. Fields was married at U'nadilla, Georgia, July 2. 1896. to Miss Lena Smith, of that place, who died in 1899 in January. leaving one child, a little girl. Iwna Smith Fields. He was married the second time in 1900 to Mrs. Nina Mercer Swearingen, near Cordele. August 15.
Mr. Fields is a lawyer by profes- sion and was elected city attorney of Cordele in 1901 and re-elected at the expiration of his term without hav- ing made application for the position. His election to membership in the present House was a tribute from the people of his county to his ability as a professional man and his trustworthiness as a citizen. While this is his first
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appearance in the political arena as a principal, he has always taken great interest in polities in his section and has actively aided his friends in their various contests from time to time, and has never been found wanting when called upon by his party for assistance. He has been prominent and public- spirited and has taken great interest in the development of his home town, which has shown remarkable growth and activity during the last few years. Mr. Fields is serving as a member of the Special Judiciary Committee.
HON. G. Y. TIGNER.
G. Y. TIGNER, Representa- tive from Muscogee coun- ty, is a son of the late Hon. William A. Tigner, who at one time was one of the leading attorneys of Atlanta. Leaving At- lanta, Hon. W. A. Tigner moved to .Jonesboro, Clayton county, and afterward represented the Thirty- fifth district in the Senate 1884-5.
When about 18 years of age the subject of this sketch was appointed official stenographer of the Chatta- hoochee circuit by Judge Martin J. Crawford, and moved to Columbus to assume the duties of that posi- tion. He represented Muscogee county in the House of 1888-9, hav- ing led the ticket in the primary. Mr. Tigner was later appointed one of the official stenographers of the Supreme Court and held the position for two years, at the expiration of which time he resigned and returned to Columbus to resume the practice of law. He was elected to the present House after a brilliant campaign in which he defeated Hon. Thos. J. Chappell, one of the most prominent citizens of the county.
Mr. Tigner is a good lawyer and a hard and successful worker. He is about forty years of age and has an interesting family. He married Miss Johnny Lindsay. and they have two children-Helen Slade Tigner and John Lindsay Tigner.
Mr. Tigner is related to the Crawford family. which has for years been
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prominent in the State. He is a great grand nephew of Hon. William II. Crawford. In the House Mr. Tigner has taken a prominent stand and is one al Judiciary, Manufactures, Military Affairs, Western & Atlantic Railroad. of its most capable members. IIe is a member of the committees on Gener-
HON. R. V. BOWEN.
R OBERT VINCENT BOWEN, Representative from Wilcox county, was born at Bowen's Mills, in that county, on the 4th of August, 1837. He is the son f William and Frances Bowen, who were among the early settlers of that section, and his whole life has been spent in that vicinity. Mr. Bowen was married in Wilcox coun- ty in 1859 to Miss Mary Reid. a member of one of the most promi- nent families of that section, and there have been born to them sev- eral children. William R. Bowen, a prominent business man of Fitz- gerald, is a son of Mr. Bowen. Mr. Bowen has one unmarried daugh- ter, Miss Abba. The family home at Lulaville was visited by death three years ago, when Miss Celia, the eldest unmarried daughter, succumbed to an attack of typhoid fever. She was a young woman of rare beauty and nobility of character and her sad death brought deep sorrow to many friends who knew her and loved her passing well.
Mr. Bowen has had an unusually successful career, having started out as a farmer and been successively hmberman, merchant, steamboat owner, real estate dealer and manufacturer of naval stores. He is at present president of the Bowen Banking Company at Fitzgerald, vice-president of the Irwin County Cotton Mills, vice-president of the Paulk Hardware Company and of the Chamless Grocery Company, and president of the Bowen Telephone Co. He is one of the wealthiest men in his section, and has a beautiful
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country home at Lulaville, near Fitzgerald. His investments have all been made with rare foresight and much of his property will enhance rapidly in value in future.
Mr. Bowen was elected to membership in the House of Representatives in 1899 and served his county with fidelity and wisdom, and was again elected this year. He is serving on various committees, among them being Corpora- tions. Immigration, and Wild Lands.
HON. COLUMBUS GRANADE.
C OLUMBUS GRANADE, Rep- resentative from Wilkes County, was born in Warren County, Georgia, on May 5,
1831. His parents were Adam Granade and Rebecca Ansley Gran- ade. and his ancestors for several generations were successful and sturdy farmers in that section of the state. Mr. Granade was mar- ried in Warren County, May 15. 1856. to Miss Naney A. Beck, a daughter of Rev. T. J. Beck, Sr., a distinguished Baptist minister. They have four children, Mrs. A. J. Orr. Thomas A., Jos. W. and Annie M. Granade. He served in the Confederate army in the 12th Geor- gia Battallion and was twice wounded, at Monoecaey in 1864 and the next year at Fort Steadman, where he was captured. Politically Mr. Granade has been an unswerving Demoerat, never having consorted with any of the newer parties and his previous experience in publie life has been confined to membership on his County Board of Education. By occupation he is a farmer and teacher. He was appointed by the Speaker to serve on the following committees : County and County Matters ; Penitentiary, Temperance.
Wilkes County is one of the older counties of the State, whose citizens take pride in their representation in the General Assembly, and in sending Mr. Granade, they selected a solid, substantial citizen. in whose hands the inter- ests of his constitueney are perfectly safe. He is especially interested in the
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temperance question and his appointment to serve on the Temperance Com- mittee is a recognition of the deep interest which he has manifested in the proper solution of this important question.
HON. J. P. KNIGHT.
J TONATILAN PERRY KNIGHT. Representative from Berrien County, was born at Ray's Mills in that county March 14, 1822. His par- ent- were John G. and Mary A. Knight. Hle is by occupation a farmer and cotton buyer. Mr. Knight was married on November 6. 1896, at Lois. Georgia. to Miss Ada Parrish. They have two chil- dren, Dewey, whose birth occurring on the day Cervera's fleet was des- troyed at Santiago, was named for the admiral of the navy who was the hero of the battle of Manila. L. J. Knight, grandfather of J. P., was a major in the Indian war and also a captain in the Confederate service. He and one of his sons were members of one or the other branch of the General Assembly for forty years. L. J. Knight was instrumental in the laying-out and establishing of Berrien County.
Mr. Knight. the present Representative, was elected to the clerkship of the Superior Court of his county at the age of twenty-three and held the office until elected to the House in 1900. He took a prominent part in the delib- eration of the House during his first term and also in the recent campaign for the governorship.
Speaker Morris appointed Mr. Knight to serve on the following commit- tees during the present session : Immigration, Invalid Pensions : Mines and Mining; Roads and Bridges: Wild Lands.
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HON D. C. DAVES.
D. C. DAVES, Representative from Fannin county, was born February 24, 1865. Ile was reared on a farm and at- tended the common schools of the neighborhood when it was possible. He graduated at the Atlanta Medi- cal College in 1892 with the degree of M. D., and has since practiced his profession with marked success in his county.
In the last primary he was nonti- nated by the Democrats for Repre- sentative. The campaign was an ex- tremely warm one. as the county had been in the Republican ranks ever since the war. So aggressive were the Democrats this year led by their candidate for the House that the entire Democratic ticket was elected. This is the first time in forty years that Fannin has been solidly in the Dem- ocratie ranks, and the members of the House have warmly congratulated Dr. Daves on his success.
The wonderful campaign waged by Dr. Daves shows the esteem in which he 's held by the people of his county, and is a marked tribute to his worth and ability. He is a member of the following committees: Corporations, Georgia State Sanitarium, Hygiene and Sanitation, Penitentiary. Ways and Means.
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