Memoirs of Georgia; containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people. Vol. I, Part 106

Author:
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association
Number of Pages: 1294

USA > Georgia > Memoirs of Georgia; containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people. Vol. I > Part 106

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WILLIAM H. BROTHERTON, dry goods merchant, Atlanta, Fulton Co., Ga., son of Rev. Levi and Winnie (Epperson) Brotherton, was born near Benton, Polk Co., Tenn., in 1839. His father was born in Greene county, Tenn., in 1810, and died Nov. 22, 1893. He was a devout and devoted member of the Methodist church, and as an ordained minister preached sixty or more years in Tennessee and Georgia. His mother, also, was a native of Tennessee. Capt. Brotherton came with his father in 1848 to Dalton county, where he was educated and grew to manhood. When fifteen years of age he engaged as a clerk with John F. Senter at Varnell's Station, Ga., on the E. T., Va. & Ga. railway, ten; miles north of Dalton, Ga. At the end of a year lie entered Brown & Crawley's drug store, Dalton, and remained a year or so, and then went into the dry goods store of C. B. Wellborn, Dalton. Soon afterward he was appointed to a position on the W. & A. road, which he retained until the election of Gov. Brown1, who appointed John W. Lewis superintendent of the road, when he returned to the employ of Mr. Wellborn. At the age of nineteen (1858) he embarked in the dry goods business on his own account at Tilton, Ga., and continued until 1862. That year he enlisted in Company C-of which lie was made second lieutenant-

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Thirty-ninth Georgia regiment, at Big Shanty. With his regiment he served with Gen. E. Kirby Smith through the Kentucky campaign, after which he was made commissary, with the rank of captain, serving as such until the evacuation of Vicksburg. While in that city the Confederate congress abolished the office of regimental commissary. Capt. Brotherton, however, was re-appointed to the same service and rank by the secretary of war, and ordered to report to Maj. J. F. Cummings, general commissary, at Atlanta. He was first assigned to duty in Atlanta; afterward was transferred to Albany, Ga., where he built two packing houses and an abattoir, received all cattle from southwestern Georgia and Florida, and slaughtered and pickled them for the use of the army. From here he was sent to West Point, Ga., where he acted as post commissary for both West Point and La Grange, and issued provisions to troops in transit, and to those in hospitals at West Point and La Grange. Here, also, he received all "tax in kind" from north Alabama and Georgia, and disposed of it under orders, until the surrender. In April, 1865, immediately after the surrender, he came to Atlanta with $260, with which he bought goods of a Federal sutler, and under the firm name of W. H. Brotherton, began business on the spot where it is to-day. His excellent judgment and business sagacity are demonstrated by his owning the property now-one of the most valuable business corners in Atlanta, with a spacious and substantial brick business house upon it equal to any in the city for the business conducted in it, wholesale and retail dry goods and notions. Such a man as Mr. Brotherton could not well be ignored or overlooked in city affairs- so in 1868, he was elected a member of the city council, serving one term. In 1873 he was again elected, and, again in 1882-3. Afterward he was elected a police commissioner, and served seven or eight years. Being comparatively young, ambitious and energetic, wide awake and progressive, it may safely be assumed that, in some capacity, he will again be called into the public service, and that the service will be valuable to the city and county. Capt. Brotherton was married in his nineteenth year to Miss Paralee, who was only fifteen, daughter of the late W. M. Williams, of Dalton, Ga .; of the children which blessed this union the eldest, Emnia, who died at the age of twenty, was born before our subject was twenty-one. The following survive: Jimmie, wife of Frank A. Small, New York city; William M .; Frank M .; Charles H .; Paralee, wife of George I. Walker, Atlanta; Robert L .; Edgar; Libbie; Harold. Capt. Brotherton is a prominent and influential member of the Methodist church; a steward and trustee of Trinity church, Atlanta, the strongest Methodist church in Georgia, whatever point viewed from. On March 4, 1895, Capt. Brotherton was re-elected to the Atlanta police commission. A beloved and promising brother of Capt. Brother- ton's-James M .- who was a lieutenant in Company C., Thirty-ninth Georgia regiment, was killed at Baker's Creek, near Jackson, Miss., April 19, 1863.

BROWN. In the opinion of the late Chief Justice Hiram Warner, the ablest argu- ment ever made before the supreme court of Georgia was made by Julius L. Brown, of the Atlanta bar. The value of this high compliment, proceeding from the most distinguished jurist in the state, is still further increased by the fact that Mr. Brown at this time was one of the youngest members of the profession. Mr. Julius L. Brown was born at Canton, Cherokee Co., Ga., on May 31. 1848. His early boyhood was spent at the country home of his illustrious father, Hon. Joseph E. Brown, subsequently chief justice of the state, governor of Georgia and United States senator. Fired with patriotic love for the south, which had been overrun and devastated by the Federal army, young Brown, though only a lad of sixteen years, entered the Confederate service, in the ranks of the Georgia cadets, in 1864,

JULIUS L. BROWN.

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and suffered the hardships and reverses of a soldier until peace was eventually declared between the north and south. Prior to the war, Mr. Brown resided in Milledgeville, Ga., his father having been called to the gubernatorial chair in 1857. Returning to Milledgeville after the war, the question of completing his education was the first one to present itself to the young soldier. He had been a student at the university high school, in Athens, a military institution of high grade, before entering the Georgia military institute. He was afterward in the Confederate service, and his first resolution on returning home was to enter the state university and complete his studies in that institution. Before doing so, however, he took a preparatory course under that eminent scholar and author, Richard Malcom Johnson, of Sparta, Ga. Entering the junior class of the state university in 1866, young Brown took an excellent stand from the very beginning, and was graduated with high distinction in 1868, having been honored with a speaker's place in both his junior and senior years. He began the study of law in his father's office im- mediately after leaving college, and in September, 1869, was admitted to the bar in De Kalb county. Before entering upon the practice of his profession, however, he decided to round his legal studies by taking a course of lectures at the Harvard law school. Here he acquitted himself with credit, bearing away one of the honors of the institution, in June, 1870. A pleasure trip of two months followed the arduous labors of the young law student, after which he located in Atlanta, becom- ing assistant United States attorney to Hon. John D. Pope, and remaining in that position until 1872. His partnership with Judge Pope was dissolved on account of the latter's removal to the state of Texas. Mr. Brown was subsequently made the sole general counsel for the Western & Atlantic railroad, retaining that important advisory position, and doing all the road's legal work, until 1891. Being a thorough student, Mr. Brown was diligent and painstaking in the preparation of his cases, and his abilities soon forced their way into general recognition. At his suggestion, the line of the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia railway was extended through Georgia, and as general counsel of the road for Georgia he drew up the bill which subsequently, in spite of overwhelming odds against him, secured a liberal charter from the general assembly. Though richly endowed with the social and personal characteristics that contribute to popularity, Mr. Brown devoted himself to the practice of his profession without seeking, or giving thought to, political preferment. Though frequently urged by his friends to represent the sena- torial district and to allow the use of his name in the race for mayor of the city, he modestly but persistently declined. He also refused to become an applicant for the judgeship of the United States court for the northern district of Georgia in spite of urgent and general solicitation. Applying himself with zeal to the practice of his profession, which was steadily growing each year, Mr. Brown distin- guished himself in quite a number of legal controversies, and came out with victorious laurels in nearly all of them. A promoter of the Metropolitan Street Railway company, Mr. Brown procured the charter for that corporation. As presi- dent of the mystic organization that gave street pageants each year and closed with a magnificent carnival, Mr. Brown became one of Atlanta's social leaders. But his versatility of enterprise and the spirit of promotion that made him one of the chief factors in Atlanta's development, did not end here. He became one of the leading spirits of the North Georgia Fair association, and as president of the Young Men's Library association of Atlanta he contributed largely to the growth and success of that institution. An elegant building on Decatur street was erected for the library during his administration. He organized the large coal and iron plants which have prospered under his control, and which are as follows: The Castle Rock Coal company of Georgia, the Georgia Mining, Manufacturing & Investment company,

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the Dade Coal company, the Georgia Iron & Coal company, the Chattanooga Iron company, the Bartow Iron & Manganese company. As a lawyer Mr. Brown has successfully contended for these propositions: that the Western & Atlantic railroad is not taxable; that any railway may build telegraph lines in Georgia, and that common carriers may separate passengers by color. Each of these legal conten- tions has brought the abilities of Mr. Brown before the highest tribunal of the state and of the United States, and before the Interstate Commerce commission, and has added materially to his professional reputation. Notwithstanding these im- portant and far-reaching legal questions, and the great business enterprises that have occupied his thought and time, Mr. Brown has found time to travel exten- sively, and to cultivate and gratify a taste for literature and art, and the gathering of relics of the past. His travels cover the United States, Canada, Mexico, the islands, Brazil and Europe, while the number, variety and rareness of his accumula- tion of works of art, antique and modern, and of valuable curiosities are indeed remarkable, and display an industry and tasteful discrimination truly wonderful. He has already 5,000 coins and 4,000 autographs; the original of Moore's Lalla Rookh, and photographs of persons of distinction and scenes of interest without number. No field has been left unexplored or ungleaned that promised to add to the value or interest of his vast and varied collection. As a host he stands unexcelled, has entertained the most eminent in the nation, including President Cleveland and Vice-President Hendricks, and entertains royally. His elegant and delightful home is charmingly presided over by one of the most accomplished of Georgia's daughters. Mr. Brown was married Nov. 3, 1871, to Miss Fannie G., daughter of Hon. Tomlinson Fort, eminent as a physician and medical author, and a member of congress-the only representative, it is said, to whom John C. Calhoun ever asked for an introduction. In 1880 Mr. Brown was admitted to the United States supreme court, being introduced by the late lamented senator, Benjaman H. Hill. Several years prior to this he was appointed standing master in chancery by Judge W. B. Woods and Judge John Erskine. Mr. Brown is now counsel for the Lowry Banking company. He was at one time counsel for the Citizens' bank and the Dollar Savings bank, both of which are now extinct. Mr. Brown was also attorney for the lessees of the Western & Atlantic railroad in the winding up of its affairs. Mr. Brown is one of the most distinguished Masons in the state. He has risen to the thirty-second degree in the rank of that ancient fraternity. He is a past high priest of Atlanta Zion chapter, royal arch Masons of Atlanta; eminent commander of the Coeur de Lion commandery, Knights Templar, of Atlanta; worshipful master of Georgia lodge, No. 96, of Atlanta; thrice illustrious master of Jason Burr council, No. 13, and grand principal conductor of the Grand council of Georgia; grand senior warden of the grand commandery of Georgia, and grand conductor of the high priesthood. Mr. Brown is a member of the Second Baptist church of Atlanta. He is still in the prime of life, and his career promises much in the way of continued honors to this useful and distin- guished Georgian.

COL. EDWIN NASH BROYLES. In the judgment of his colleagues at the bar no lawyer in the state possesses a stronger legal faculty or is more familiar with the great underlying principles of the profession than Col. Edwin Nash Broyles. For more than forty years Col. Broyles has been successfully identified with the practice of the law, and though he has never held judicial office, his posi- tion at the bar has nevertheless been one of honor and respectability. The sub- ject of this sketch was born in the famous county of Buncombe. N. C., on Nov. 14, 1829. His father, Maj. Cain Broyles, was a man of exceptional worth and

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character, who believed in rearing his children according to pious admonition and who especially enjoined upon them by way of example as well as parental pre- cept the importance of acquiring industrious and economic habits. Though admitted to the bar of South Carolina, his native state, he gave up the practice of the law to engage in other pursuits. At the time of his son's birth he was engaged in constructing a turnpike road across the Tennessee line into Bun- combe county, N. C., having moved with his family into that section of the state. Maj. Broyles was a militia officer in the war of 1812 and was stationed for quite a while at Fort Hawkins, Ga. He married Miss Lucinda Nash, a descendant of Col. John Nash, who was killed at the battle of Germantown during the American revo- lution, and from whom the city of Nashville, Tenn., was subsequently named. She was a lady of great worth in every sense. Nine children resulted from this union, the subject of this sketch being the seventh in the order of birth. His two youngest brothers died during the late war. One of them was killed at the battle of the Wilderness and the other one died in the hospital at Lynchburg. The birthplace of Col. Broyles was notable for its scenery and traditions. It was known as Painted Rock and was located on the French Broad river, one, of the most picturesque and romantic streams in the state of North Carolina. This por- tion of the state is still a favorite resort of travelers, being diversified by the peaks of the Great Smoky mountains and situated only four miles south of the famous Hot Springs. The boyhood of Col. Broyles was spent along the border line of the two states. After leaving North Carolina his father took up his residence in Greene county, Tenn., living for a while at Greeneville, and afterward in the country on the turnpike road. From the schools in the neighborhood and from his parents, especially his mother, the subject of this sketch derived his early training. As soon as he was old enough to enter college he became a student at Washing- ton college, Tennessee, then under the control of that able instructor, Prof. A. A. Doke. Prof. Doke was a graduate of Princeton college, New Jersey, and a gifted Presbyterian clergyman. The influence of his life and example upon the young students of Washington college was wholesome and inspiring. Under the instruc- tion of this earnest man Col. Broyles increased his fondness for logic and philosophic reasoning, which led him at once into the practice of the law and has since characterized his career at the bar. Beginning the study of his chosen profession at Greeneville, he applied himself to his books with great diligence, though he lacked the aid of special instruction. For several months he filled the position of assistant clerk of the court and this brought him into gifted and dis- tinguished company. Among the lawyers who practiced before the court of Greeneville were: Gen. Thomas D. Arnold, Judge Samuel Milligan, Wm. H. Sneed of Knoxville, and Thomas R. R. Nelson of Jonesboro. In listening to the eloquence of these strong advocates and watching their movements in the court- room, the zeal of the young student was aroused to emulation and he resolved to devote himself with greater diligence than ever to the mastery of his profession. One of his favorite books was Nicholson's Encyclopedia, a volume which had formerly belonged to his grandfather, Aaron Broyles. This book contained two articles on logic and philosophy, which deeply impressed his young mind and from the impetus thus given he was induced to read other volumes bearing upon the same subjects. Anthon's Classical Dictionary was another favorite companion of the young student. For more than a year after his admission to the bar Col. Broyles remained at his father's home in Tennessee and continued to prosecute his studies without interruption. He made no effort to secure clients, preferring to equip himself thoroughly for his life's work before entering the actual practice of his profession. Leaving Tennessee Col. Broyles came to Cedartown, Ga., in 1853.

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He left Greeneville with the intention of locating in Dallas, Ga., but on his way to that place he spent the night with a man in Polk county who induced him to locate at Cedartown. He soon made friends at this place and met with no slight encouragement in his practice. In the spring of 1855 he was induced by some residents of the county to teach school for ten months in the year, which he con- sented to do, thereby adding several hundred dollars to his purse. Two years later he was appointed by Gov. Brown to compile the legislative statutes for 1857, which work he performed to the satisfaction of the chief executive and members of the bar. During his leisure intervals Col. Broyles devoted himself to legal and miscellaneous reading and began to build up a library, legal and literary, which has since grown to be among the largest in the state. At the outbreak of the war, Col. Broyles returned to Tennessee and wedded Miss Elizabeth N. Arnold, the daughter of Gen. Thomas D. Arnold. This gifted lady, who died several years ago, was one of the most cultivated and brilliant women of this generation. Her literary productions were eagerly read all over the south and her talents were recognized by many of the leading publications of the country. She was richly endowed with all the true womanly virtues. During the war Col. Broyles served on the governor's staff and rendered much valuable aid to the Confederacy. In 1865 he located in Rome, Ga., being associated with Hon. Augustus R. Wright. During his residence in Rome his firm brought suit against the railroad in behalf of Mr. James D. Waddell for $20,000. After filing the suit, plaintiff's counsel asked for the privilege of increasing these figures to $50,000, which was granted them. The case was tried before the jury and a verdict awarding the plaintiff $35,000 was returned, the largest award ever known at the time. A compromise, however, was subsequently effected between the defendant and the railroad. Col. Broyles came to Atlanta in 1868. For several years he was associated in the practice with his brother-in-law, Col. Reuben Arnold. Since his removal to Atlanta his career at the bar has been a successful one, and many important cases have been entrusted to his management. No lawyer at the bar possesses the faculty of discrimination to a more conspicuous degree than Col. Broyles. His grasp of legal principles is quick and accurate and his judgment is seldom at fault in matters of law and equity. His reputation at the bar is that of a profound legal scholar and a man of absolute and unimpeachable integrity. Col. Broyles was married the second time in 1883 to Miss Sallie Trippe Hardy, the daughter of Dr. Weston Hardy, of Bartow county, and granddaughter of the late Judge Turner Trippe of that circuit. Though frail in health Mrs. Broyles is a lady of culture and refinement and possessed of many amiable and charming qualities. By his first wife Col. Broyles has four children: Hon. Arnold Broyles, alderman from the south side and mayor pro tem. of the city of Atlanta; Judge Nash R. Broyles, United States commis- sioner; Mrs. Loyd Parks and Bernard C. Broyles, deputy city tax receiver. By his second wife he has only one child, Harold Hardy Broyles. The home life of Col. Broyles is a pleasant and happy one. In addition to this he commands the esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens and the universal regard of the bench and the bar.

COL. ALFRED E. BUCK, Atlanta, Fulton Co. Among the citizens of Georgia who have taken a leading and influential part in the upbuilding of the common- wealth since the late destructive war between the states quite a large number have come from the north. It is a striking illustration of the fact that sectional strife is at an end to see the cordial manifestation of friendship on the part of the people of this state in extending the right hand of fellowship to those progressive and enterprising recruits from the north. Col. Alfred E. Buck may not im-

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properly be classed among these adopted citizens of Georgia. He has now been a resident of this state for more than twenty years, and, in spite of his stanch republican leadership, which served for a number of years as a wall of isolation between his democratic neighbors and himself, no man is to-day more universally respected on account of his personal qualities and his exalted character as a man. Col. Buck is a native of far-off Maine, and was born at Foxcroft, in that state, on Feb. 7, 1832. His father, Benjamin T. Buck, was a Baptist deacon, and a man of deep piety. His great-grandfather, in whose veins the blood of old England coursed, settled in Buckfield, Me., to which locality his own name was subsequently given. The family of Col. Buck's mother, whose maiden name was Elmira Todd, came from Connecticut and settled in New Brunswick. Possessed of a strong ambition that asserted itself early in boyhood, the subject of this sketch, without visible means at his command, made up his mind to secure a collegiate education. As the result of this determination he managed to raise the money and to pay his own way through college, graduating in 1859 from Waterville college, now Colby university, as Latin salutatorian, one of the highest honors of the institution. He taught school at Hallowel, Me., in 1859-60, and was princi- pal of the Lewiston high school at the breaking out of the late war. He was not accepted on his first enlistment in the Federal army, but having made up his mind to serve, he raised a company at his own expense and went into camp in No- vember, 1861. Being chosen as the captain of this company, he was assigned to duty in the Thirteenth regiment of Maine volunteers. He served on the Mississippi coast, at Ship Island, Fort Pike and Fort McComb. After this he organized the Ninety-first Colored infantry, and was chosen as the lieutenant- colonel of that regiment in 1863. In the following year he was appointed lieuten- ant-colonel in command of the Fifty-first Colored infantry. He was ordered to Vicksburg in November, 1864, and assigned to duty as the second officer on the board of examination to select white officers for colored regiments. Col. Buck led his regiment in the capture of Fort Bleckley, at Mobile, when the Federals captured 2,500 men. He was breveted colonel for this assault and made division inspector-general in April, 1865. Two months later he was made inspector-gen- eral for Western Louisiana, and in this capacity he inspected troops and located depots for supplies furnished by the government to the people made destitute by the floods of that year. He was a member of the military commission at New Orleans for the department of the gulf during the winter of 1865-66, and was released from military service in 1866. He engaged for a short while in the man- ufacture of turpentine on Montgomery Island, in Mobile Bay, but he sustained the loss of his outfit by fire in 1867. Col. Buck was a delegate to the recon- struction convention of Alabama, and was made chairman of the committee on preamble and bill of rights. In December, 1867, he was appointed by Gen. Pope clerk of the Mobile county state court, and was subsequently elected a member of the city council of Mobile in 1868. Higher political honors awaited the indus- trious suitor for distinction. In 1869 he took his seat as a member of the forty- first congress and secured the first $50,000 appropriation from the government for the Mobile harbor. He declined to be a candidate for re-election. Again in 1873 Col. Buck became a member of the city council of Mobile, and was chosen to serve as president of that body. He resigned this position, however, and moved to Atlanta, becoming the clerk of the United States circuit and district courts of Georgia. He resigned the district clerkship in 1887, and two years later was appointed marshal for the northern district of Georgia under President Harrison. He remained in this office, filling the position acceptably to the citizens of the district, until his successor under President Cleveland was duly qualified.

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Memoirs of Georgia; containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people. Vol. I, Part 106

Author: Publication date: 1859 Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association Number of Pages: 1294

Author:
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association
Number of Pages: 1294