USA > Georgia > Georgia's public men 1902-1904 > Part 5
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21
60
GEORGIA'S PUBLIC MEN.
Esq. He was admitted to the bar at Gainesville in January, 1894, and at once entered upon the practice of his profession at Clarkesville. Until June, 1900. he practiced alone, but on account of his rapidly increasing business he found it necessary to admit a partner, Mr. Robert McMillan. The firm name is at present Erwin & McMillan.
In 1898 Mr. Erwin associated himself with Hon. Chas. S. Northen. Secre- tary of the Senate, and held the position of Message Clerk and Chief of the Enrolling and Engrossing Department of that body during the sessions of 1895-9 and 1900-1. ITis work in this capacity was so satisfactory that upon the accession of Governor Terrell Mr. Erwin was appointed to his present position. He has a wide circle of friends throughout the State, and is a capable and popular young man.
PRIVATE SECRETARY WMI. E. IRVIN.
W ILLIAM EMMET IRVIN, private secretary to Gov- ernor J. M. Terrell, is one of the most popular officials of the new administration. He has been connected with the Governor for several years as his private secreta- ry while Attorney-General. Mr. Ir- vin was born in Pike county, Geor- gia. November 22, 1877. His pa- rents, Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Irvin, moved the next year to Meriwether county. where they have since re- sided. He was educated in the schools of Merwether county, and afterwards attended the University of Virginia at Charlottesville. where he made a splendid record.
Mr. Irvin came to Atlanta several years ago as private secretary to Gover- nor Terrell when he was Attorney-General, and remained in that capacity until his chief resigned to make the race for the gubernatorial chair. Upon the appointment of IIon. Boykin Wright to fill the unexpired term Mr. Irvin was continued in the position, and his experience with the duties of the office made him of great value to the new incumbent. He remained in
61
GEORGIA'S PUBLIC MEN.
the office until Governor Terrell was inaugurated, when he was appointed private and military secretary to the Governor. Mr. Irvin is a member of the Governor's staff with the rank of Major. and in that capacity is closely connected with the military of the State.
Mr. Irvin's official position for several years has thrown him into close con- tact with many of the most influential men in the State, and he has gained an extended acquaintance among them. He is a popular and capable official. and in his new po-ition will be of splendid service to the Governor. He has a splendid capacity for the details of administrative work and has the full and entire confidence of the Governor.
COM'R OF PENSIONS JOHN W. LINDSAY.
J OHN W. LINDSAY. Commis- sioner of Pensions, is a native of Wilkinson county, Georgia. His father was Isaac Lindsay and his mother a Miss Moore before her marriage. Col. Lindsay has been a resident of Wilkinson all his life and has been for a number of years one of its most distinguished citizens. At the outbreak of the war Col. Lindsay enlisted in Company I. Third Georgia Regiment. in which organization he served throughout the war. He was wounded several times, receiving his most serious in- jury at the battle of Spottsylvania. He was a splendid soldier. faithful to every duty and gave some of the best years of his young life to the service of his State.
At the close of the war Col. Lindsay returned to his home to face the condi- tions that confronted all the returning soldiers of the South. He studied law and was admitted to the bar. He has practiced for a number of years at Irwinton. and bears the reputation of being one of the best attorneys in that section. He built up a large and lucrative practice in his county and those adjoining it, which he has retained for a long time.
In 1884 he was elected to represent Wilkinson county in the lower branch
62
GEORGIA'S PUBLIC MEN.
of the General Assembly, and so satisfactorily was his service to his constit- uency that he was returned for another term. After retiring from the Leg- islature, Col. Lindsay devoted himself to the practice of his profession until called upon by Governor Candler to assume the duties of Commissioner of Pensions in 1899. In this position Col. Lindsay has faithfully performed his important duties and has made a splendid reputation as a painstaking and efficient public officer.
Col. Lindsay married Miss Julia Tucker of Washington county. Their son, Capt. Julian R. Lindsay, of the United States army, has recently returned to the United States after a term of service in China and the Philippines, in which he greatly distinguished himself. After graduating at West Point. Capt. Lindsay was appointed instructor in the academy and served several years in that capacity. He is considered one of the most capable young officers in the military establishment. and has won high encomiums from his superior officers. Miss Annie Lindsay is the efficient stenographer in her father's office and renders him splendid service.
63
GEORGIA'S PUBLIC MEN.
THE SENATE.
PRESIDENT CLARK HOWELL.
M
ON. CLARK HOWELL is a son of Captain Evan P. Howell, mayor-elect of the city of Atlanta. Although he is of Georgia stock. the exigencies of the civil war occasioned his birth in Erwinton, South Carolina, September 21, 1863.
After the war he grew up in his father's home in this city and received his education primarily in the public schools of Atlanta, of which his father was one of the councilmanic founders. In school he was remarked by his- teachers as bright, alert and absorptive of instruction. He graduated from the High School in a class of exceptionally bright young men, most of whom have since become notable figures in the social, business and political life of the city. Among them none was more promising than Mr. Howell.
From the High School he proceeded to the University of Georgia and there completed the curriculum with distinction. graduating in 1883. Having fixed his ambitions upon a journalistic career, he did the wise thing at the very outset. Going to New York. he placed himself unreservedly in . the hard harness of a reportorial apprenticeship on the New York Times. His purpose was to gain a thorough working knowledge of the details whereby a metropolitan newspaper is daily made up and given to the world. After "roughing it" up that steep of experience, he shifted to the Philadelphia Press and there, upon one of the model papers editorially of the country, completed his course of drill, so that upon his return to Atlanta in 1884 he was made night editor of The Consitution, and three years later, in 1882. was made assistant managing editor under the late Henry Grady.
In 1886 Mr. Howell was elected to the General Assembly of the State as one of the representatives of Fulton county. He received two consecutive re-elections, so that his term of service was six years in the house. The last two years he occupied the Speaker's office with conspicuous ability and fair- ne-s.
On the death of Henry W. Grady he was chosen managing editor of The Constitution and when. in 1896, his father, Captain Howell, retired from the post of editor-in chief. Clark Howell was elected to succeed him and still holds that chair at the head of the paper.
64
GEORGIA'S PUBLIC MEN.
In 1892 he was chosen as the Georgia member of the National Democratic Executive Committee and re-chosen in 1896 and 1900. so that he still serves the State and the party in that position.
He became a trustee of the University of Georgia in 1898, and in the same voar was elected a member of the board of directors of the Associated Press. the greatest news-gathering a-sociation in the world. and is still one of its prominent members.
In 1900 he was elected to the State Senate of Georgia from the Atlanta district and became the president of that body. He was re-elected in 1902 and again chosen president of the Senate-a fact that testifies to his large popularity.
In 1900 he married Miss Annie Comer, daughter of President H. M. Comer of Savannah. Mr. Howell is a gentleman of the happiest disposition, genial and generous, and withal a well-balanced, conservative and progressive citizen, journalist and official.
-
HON. CLARKSHOWELL, PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE.
66
GEORGIA'S PUBLIC MEN.
SECRETARY CHARLES S. NORTHEN.
C HARLES S. NORTHEN, Secretary of the Senate, is one of the best known young men of his age in the State of Georgia. and has a wide circle of friends throughout the State. For a number of years he has been in close touch with the leading men in the State and has labored untiringly for the success of his party. and is reaping his reward in his present position, where it seems extremely difficult for any opponent to disturb his equanimity.
Mr. Northen was born in Hancock County, Georgia. November 6, 1859. and at an early age moved to Atlanta, where he has since resided. He was for a number of years in the wholesale mercantile business in this city, being junior member of the well-known firm of Smith, Barry & Co. IIe is now actively engaged in the insurance business, which occupation he has followed for several years with marked success.
Since coming to Atlanta, Mr. Northen has taken an active interest in local and State polities. He was a member of the City Council of Atlanta in 1892 and 1893, and was for several years chairman of the Executive Com- mittee of the Young Men's Democratic League. In 1892 he was made vice- chairman of the State Campaign Committee. and did a great deal of work in that eapacity.
Mr. Northen inaugurated the movement to erect a monument to Henry W. Grady, and was made permanent president of the association that con- ducted that splendid work.
Mr. Northen's first connection with the Senate began in 1894, when he was elected assistant secretary, which position he held for two terms. In 1898 he was elected secretary, which position he has held ever since, having been elected three consecutive times and receiving each time the entire vote cast in the Senate.
Mr. Northen has been frequently appointed by the judges of the Superior and United States Courts as commissioner and receiver in important cases, and the trusts have always been executed with satisfaction to all parties concerned. He stands high in his profession, and is one of the leading men of the city.
In October. 1892, Mr. Northen was married to Miss Nora Earnest, of Atlanta, and two children have been born to them-Margaret and Charles S., Jr.
--
HON. CHARLES S. NORTHEN, SECRETARY OF THE SENATE.
68
GEORGIA'S PUBLIC MEN.
IN MEMORIAM.]
PRESIDENT PRO TEM. P. J. SULLIVAN.
P ATRICK J. SULLIVAN. the subject of this sketch, was born thirty- nine years ago in Glosnanoon Manor, in County Kerry, Ireland, of prominent Irish-American parents, who were at the time on a visit to their native land. He moved to Augusta, Ga .. in his early boyhood and was reared by a widowed aunt. After graduating from the High School of Augusta he entered the law office of Hon. J. C. C. Black, and after devoting himself to the study of law for two years was admitted to plead and practice in the courts of this State. Shorly after his admission he was appointed reporter for the Augusta circuit. He held this position for two years, and discharged the duties thereof with eminent ability and to the satis- faction of the beneh, bar and people. He resigned to enter actively upon the practice of his profession. Mr. Sullivan, in the memorable Black-Watson cam- paign, was chairman of the Board of Registrars of Richmond county, which position was quasi judicial. In the bitterness of this campaign, while a parti- san of Major Black, his old preceptor, his honesty and fairness was never ques- tioned by those whom he fought. In 1900. according to the rotation system, it beeame the time for Richmond connty to furnish the Senator for the Eigh- teenth Senatorial district. His name was suggested for the posiiton, and he was nominated and elected without opposition. His record in the State Senate was so eminently satisfactory to his constituents that when his time expired with the end of the session of 1901 he was renominated and re-elected to the Senate of 1902-3 without opposition or the suggestion thereof. When the Senate of 1902-3 was organized he was elected by the unanimous vote of his fellow-Senators to the high position of President Pro Tem. of that body. After a short illness he died in the city of Atlanta on the ninth day of Novem- ber, 1902.
As a lawyer. he was able, learned and fearless : as a counsellor, he was safe. prudent and conservative : as an advocate, he was bold, truthful and eloquent, and entirely free from hypocrisy. cant or deceit. His services to his State as a legislator were invaluable, for with loyal heart and the purest hand he faith-
HON. PATRICK J. SULLIVAN, PRESIDENT PRO TEM. (DECEASED).
70
GEORGIA'S PUBLIC MEN.
fully discharged all public trusts, aud his untimely and afflictive demise is uni- versally recognized as an irreparable loss to his district, to his people, and to the State he loved so well.
This great and good man. this loyal and devoted friend. died "where man- hood's morning almost touches noon, and while the shadows were falling towards the west ;" just in the happiest, sunniest hour of life's happy voyage, in the full possession of the confidence and love of his innumerable friends, to whom he leaves as a priceless bequest an unsullied and irreproachable mem- ory.
"If every friend for whom this brave and tender man had performed some loving service were permitted to bring and place an immortelle upon his bier he would sleep forever under a very wilderness of never-fading flowers."
THOS. B. FELDER, JR.
SENATOR CLAIBORNE SNEAD.
C LAAIBORNE SNEAD, Senator from the Twenty-ninth dis- trict, is a native of Richmond county. having been born at Au- gusta on the 31st of March, 1836. Mr. Snead has been a prominent figure in State politics for many years, and is one of the leading mem- bers of the Senate. His residence is at Parnell, Columbia county.
Mr. Snead's public service began with his election to the Legislature in 1865, when Governor Charles J. Jenkins was in office, and he was also a member of the House in 18:1 and 1822. In 1894 Mr. Snead was elected to the Senate from the Twen- ty-ninth district and is again repre-
senting that district.
From 1818 to 1882 Mr. Snead was Judge of the Superior Courts of the Augusta circuit and presided with marked ability over the courts in his juris-
71
GEORGIA'S PUBLIC MEN.
diction. He was an able jurist and commanded the respect of the lawyers as well as the people of the State.
The military career of the subject of this sketch was no less distinguished than his civil. Ile entered the Confederate service as Lieutenant of Company G of the Third Georgia Regiment. served throughout the entire war, was promoted to be Colonel of the regiment, and surrendered with his command at Appomattox.
As soldier, statesman and jurist, Mr. Snead has been a foremost figure in Georgia. and deservedly holds a high place in the estimation of his people. He has served them for many years in various capacities with fidelity and ability, and has been a trusted public servant of the State whose confidence in him has never been shaken. He is considered one of the strong men of the Senate, and his words of wisdom command the respect and attention of his younger colleagues.
SENATOR C. HARVIE JORDAN.
C. HARVIE JORDAN, Sen- ator from the Twenty- eighth district. is a na- tive of Jasper county. where he was born, JJanuary 1. 1861. His family has long been prominent in the county. Mr. Jordan's grandfather settled in 1820 the place on which the subject of this sketch now re- sides.
Mr. Jordan was married January 18. 1893, to Miss Ella May Gerdine. a daughter of Judge J. H. L. Ger- dine. They have four interesting children-Emma. Clarence. Harvey. Marion and a babe vet unnamed.
Until 1898 Mr. Jordan took no active interest in politics. In the spring of that year he was urged to make the race for the House against a well known politician. He was signally successful in the race. and made a splendid record as Representative.
During his service in the House Mr. Jordan took an active part in legisla- tion, and was an earnest advocate of retrenchment and reform. He was
72
GEORGIA'S PUBLIC MEN.
chairman of the General Agricultural Committee and a member of various others.
In 1900 Mr. Jordan was re-elected to the House without opposition. This year he was nominated and elected to the Senate without opposition.
Mr. Jordan is a practical, scientific farmer, and is a recognized authority on agricultural matters. He is Agricultural Editor of the Atlanta Journal, and in that capacity is doing a great work for the advancement of agriculture in the South.
When the Southern Cotton Growers' Protective Association was organized Mr. Jordan was elected to the presidency, and has worked with great energy and ability for its success. He is also first vice-president of the Farmers' National Congress, the most important organization of that character in the country, Mr. Jordan is one of the leaders of the Senate and his influence is felt throughout the body.
SENATOR E. H. McMICHAEL.
E DWARD H. MCMICHAEL. Senator from the Twenty- fourth district, is a native of the adjoining county of Schley, nav- ing bien born in that county on the 4th of February, 1870. His father, Dr. James R. MeMichael, was a lead- ing physician of that section and was prominent in public life for many years. The McMichael family has been one of the leaders in Schley and Marion counties for generations and has furnished several very well- known men.
Mr. MeMichael was married at Tazewell, in Marion county, on the 12th of May, 1892. to Miss Mary Stewart, of that place, and they have three interesting children-Ella Elizabeth, Mary Stewart and Edward II .. Jr.
The political record of Senator MeMichael commenced with his election to the office of County Surveyor two months before he reached his majority, and
73
GEORGIA'S PUBLIC MEN.
he held the office for several years. He attended Emory College for some time and since leaving that institution has been engaged in educational and agri- cultural work.
Mr. MeMichael's race for the Senate was one of the most exciting contests in the State, and attracted general interest. As has happened in most districts where there is a city, an effort was made to destroy the rotation system of electing senators and to substitute a district primary in its stead for the purpose of giving the county which contains a city an advantage over the country counties in electing the senator. Although it was Marion's time to nominate the senator according to district usage of long standing, a district primary aws ordered and former customs ignored.
Joint debates were the order of the day in the campaign waged by Mr. Mc- Michael, and they were held all over the district. The campaign reached its climax when the eloquent young candidate from Marion addressed an audi- ence of over 800 in Columbus. Mr. McMichael was successful in his can- paign against combined forces, and a splendid reputation as an orator has pre- ceded him to the Senate.
SENATOR J. H. SKELTON.
J AMES H. SKELTON. senator from the Thirty-first district. resides at Hartwell, Hart county, where he was born on the 13th of March, 1868. His father. Maj. John II. Skelton, was a promi- nent figure in that section of the State for a number of years. Mr. Skelton is a lawyer by profession, having a constantly increasing prac- tice in Hart and surrounding coun- ties and being considered one of the leaders at the bar in that section. He is married and has an interest- ing family of five children.
The political career of Senator Skelton has embraced service on va- rious committees of the Democratic party, county. congressional and State; in all of which capacities he has labored with ability and zeal. He served as mayor of Hartwell for five years
74
GEORGIA'S PUBLIC MEN.
and rendered his town excellent service in that capacity. He was chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee of Hart in 1898-9; member of the Con- gressional Executive Committee of the Eighth district in 1896-2. and is at present a member of the State Executive Committee from the Eighth district.
Mr. Skelton is also an enthusiastic member of the Knights of Honor. hold- ing the position of Grand Dictator for a term comprising the years 1902-4. He is very popular among his colleagues in the Senate and takes a prominent part in its work.
SENATOR L. L. MIDDLEBROOK.
L UCHU'S L. MIDDLEBROOK, Senator from the Twenty- seventh district, was born in the Brick Store district of Newton county February 8, 1848. and was the youngest of eight children born to Thomas L. and Miranda Middle- brook. On both sides of the family Mr. Middlebrook is descended from sturdy agriculturists who have made homes for themselves and have been honest and upright and valuable cif- izens. Through his mother he is do- scended from Daniel Morgan, the Revolutionary patriot.
In 1824 Senator Middlebrook was married to Miss Emma Corley, of Covington. and they have five chil- dren-Kathleen, Evilina and Isabel, Thomas M. and Howard. Kathleen is the wife of E. E. Heard, of Covington, and Thomas M. has served with dis- tinction in the volunteer forces of the United States in recent years.
Mr. Middlebrook's first public service was as treasurer of the town of Cov- ington, to which office he was elected in 18:3 and which he held three terms. He served in the House during the years 1880-1885 inclusive and again in 1894. He was a Democratie elector in 1896, and was mayor of Covington in 1889. besides serving on the Board of Education of that town for six years.
Mr. Middlebrook enlisted in the Confederate service with Company D of Lec's Battalion. and served twelve months as private and sergeant. When the State militia was organized in 1864 to reinforce Johnston's army. Mr. Mid-
75
GEORGIA'S PUBLIC MEN.
diebrook was elected Lieutenant in one of the companies of Georgia militia, and saw a great deal of service in that capacity. He was in all the operations around Atlanta and his command was the last to leave the city that was doomed to fall a victim to Sherman's wanton destructiveness.
Mr. Middlebrook has been engaged in agriculture to a considerable extent, and has also practiced law in Covington since his admission to the bar in 1871. He is one of the most successful attorneys in his section and is an in- fluential citizen of his town and county.
SENATOR W. R. REID.
W ILLIAM R. REID, senator from the 19th district. re- sides at Crawfordville, in Teliaferro county, in which historic county he was born on November 12, 1855. His parents were B. R. and E. J. Reid.
Senator Reid was married at Crawfordville October 31. 1882. to Miss Kate L. Gee. and there have been born to them six children- Win. L .. R. G., Carrie, Fred. Walter and Estelle.
Senator Reid is engaged in the ho- tel business. being proprietor of the Holden-Reid Hotel, Crawfordville's splendid new hostelry, which has re- cently been completed at a cost of $15,000. The building is of brick, with plate glass front, and is an institu- tion of which the people of the town are immensely proud.
In politics the Senator has been a consistent Democrat. He defeated the Populist candidate for the House in 1898 and was re-elected in 1900. serving his people to their satisfaction. Hlis election to the Senate this year from the district which contains the counties of Taliaferro, Warren and Greene is a deserved tribute to a worthy legislator who has always been faithful to the trust imposed upon him.
76
GEORGIA'S PUBLIC MEN.
SENATOR S. R. CHRISTIE.
S AAMUEL ROBERT CHRIS- TIE, the present Senator from the Eleventh District, which embraces the counties of Clay, Randolph and Terrell, was born in Randolph County. March 25, 1848. His parents, Nathan G. and Elizabeth Christie, were mem- bers of that sturdy class who have given the State its senators, gover- nors and statesmen. and upon whose shoulders the destiny of our great State has always rested. As a boy, Senator Christie's advantages were limited, but he managed to acquire sufficient education to fit him for a country school teacher, and for a short period he was engaged in teaching. In 1865, when barely seventeen years old, Senator Christie enlisted in Pruden's Battalion of Artillery, but owing to the carly close of the war he never saw active service. The close of the war found him penniless, but with characteristic determination he began the battle of life, with a clear head, an honest heart, and a purpose to treat all men fairly as his only stock in trade. How well he has succeeded is shown by the honorable competency he has ac- quired and by the esteem and confidence placed in him by those who know him best, his home people.
In 1874. Senator Christie was elected Sheriff of Terrell County. which posi- tion he held until 1880, when he resigned to take his seat in the State Legis- lature to which he had just been elected. In 1882 he voluntarily retired from active public life and devoted himself to farming and management of a ware- house and mercantile business. in all of which he was eminently successful.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.