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 111

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 111

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MAJ. JOHN CALHOUN COURTNEY, the subject of this sketch, is a typical Virginia gentleman. He was born in the city of Norfolk, in that state, on Aug. 16, 1834, and resided in Norfolk until rcaching his majority. His father, Richard Courtney, was also a Virginian and a native of King and Queen county. He served for a while in the United States navy, after which he entered the journalistic field and assumed an editorial pen on the staff of the "American Beacon," a whig paper published in Norfolk, Va. He was associated, in this capacity, with the late William C. Shields, one of the most distinguished exponents of Virginia's newspaperdom. Young Courtney, at the age of fifteen, decided to master the science of telegraphy, and entered the service of the Virginia telegraph company, and before the close of the year 1849 was reading the Morse system by sound. He is perhaps the first person that ever accomplished the feat of receiving telegraphic messages by sound. In 1855 he went to Petersburg, Va., and accepted a position as telegraph operator with the Washington & New Orleans telegraph company. In 1857 he was appointed agent for the Norfolk & Petersburg railroad company. He left Petersburg in 1862 for Burlington, N. C., to assume charge of the telegraph lines belonging to the Southern express company, and after remain- ing a year in Burlington he next removed to Charlotte, and became the superin- tendent of the telegraph department, holding the position until 1866. During the first year of the war Maj. Courtney was in frequent consultation with Gen. Robert E. Lee in regard to the telegraph service. Later on he corresponded with Gens. Beauregard and Johnston and delivered to Gen. Beauregard, in advance of all other dispatches, the news of Gcn. Lee's surrender at Appomattox. Maj. Court- ney also delivered to President Jefferson Davis the dispatch from Gen. John C. Breckinridge, announcing the assassination of President Lincoln. He was sub- sequently taken to Washington to corroborate this dispatch before the court mar- tial engaged in the great assassination trial. From May, 1862, until the close of the war, Maj. Courtney was in charge of the telegraph lines from Danville, Va., and Weldon, N. C., to Columbia, S. C. This position was not given to him directly by the Confederate government, but it brought him into frequent communication with the leaders of the Confederacy, and in this way he rendered valuable service to the country. Maj. Courtney remained in Columbia, S. C., from 1866 until 1870 as the assistant superintendent of the Southern express company for North and South Carolina. In October, 1870, he came to Atlanta as the superintendent of the telegraph lines between Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tenn., and from Dec. 27, 1870, was in the employ of the Western & Atlantic railroad company. He served in this capacity until 1873, when he was elected by the executive committee of the Western & Atlantic company to the office of auditor of the road, vacated by the death of Owen Lynch. He continued to occupy this position until the expiration of the lease, and still holds this office under the receivers of that company to the close of 1895. For a long period Maj. Courtney acted as secretary and treasurer for the Monteagle assembly, of Monteagle, Tenn., though still residing in Atlanta, and did much to build up that institution. In 1880 he was commissioned as a delegate to the Robert Raikes memorial convention in London, England, held in honor of Robert Raikes, the founder of the systein of Sunday schools. Maj. Courtney had been an active Sunday school worker for many years, and going to London as the representative of the state of Georgia, he took an active part in the delibera- tions of the convention. For nearly fifteen years Maj. Courtney was the super-

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intendent of the Sunday school of the First Methodist church. He is still a member of that church. For a long time prior to 1890 he was secretary and treasurer of the state Sunday school association. Since 1890 he has acted as special examiner in quite a number of railroad matters and has been chairman of the auditing committee of the Southern railway and steamship association: Maj. Courtney was united in marriage on May 10, 1859, to Miss Mary E. Williamson, the daughter of the late George Williamson, of Petersburg, Va. Their marriage life has been a signally happy one and three children were born to them: John R., agent for the N. C. & St. L. R. R. at Macon, Ga .; Richard B., agent for the M. K. T. railroad at Houston, Texas; and Mary Stuart Courtney. Since February, 1891, Maj. Courtney has been the secretary and treasurer of the Capital City club, of Atlanta, Ga., having been elected each year without opposition. Honest, con- scientious and straightforward, Maj. Courtney has made a useful citizen and a model member of the community. Full of energy and resources he has never allowed himself to be idle and has always taken a leading part in all movements which he has had anything to do with. In this respect he has been a conspicuous example of progressive enterprise and persevering industry.

DR. LOGAN M'LEAN CRICHTON, professor of diseases of the nose and throat in the Southern medical college, Atlanta, and of diseases of the eye, ear and nose in the Atlanta polyclinic, was born near Tampa, Fla., Dec. 29, 1864, and two years later moved with his parents to Jacksonville, Fla., where they resided until 1872, when they came to Atlanta. Dr. Crichton attended a private school at Jacksonville, the public schools at Atlanta, and the military school at Kirkwood, Ga., for several years. He read medicine with Dr. J. B. Baird for a year, and then took the graded course of study at the Bellevue hospital medical college in New York city, graduating in 1888. He returned to Atlanta and practiced his profes- sion for twelve months; going again to New York city in 1889, where he attended the polyclinic, and for six months acted as assistant, receiving special instruction in the diseases of the eye, ear and nose at the New York eye and ear hospital. He also attended Mt. Sinai hospital, and the New Amsterdam eye and ear hospital in New York city. Since his return to Atlanta he has made eye, ear and nose work a specialty. Dr. Crichton is a member of the State medical association, the Atlanta society of medicine, and of St. Luke's Episcopal church. He was married in October, 1893, to May, daughter of Charles Irvin. Dr. John P. Crichton, the father of Dr. L. M. Crichton, was born in St. Marys, Ga., in 1821. He was a gradu- ate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, and practiced in Florida, retiring from practice when he moved to Atlanta in 1872. He married Adelaide, widow of Kennedy. They had four children: Addie, wife of I. T. Calloway, Atlanta; Eugene C., Atlanta; Dr. L. M. Crichton; and Maud D., wife of Dr. C. G. Giddings, Atlanta. Dr. Crichton's grandfather Crichton emigrated from Scotland. -

DR. WALTER ANDREW CROWE, one of Atlanta's leading physicians, was born on a farm in Washington county, Va., May 7, 1857, and was there brought up, receiving his primary education in the schools of that district. In 1875 he matriculated at Emory-Henry college and was graduated in 1879. He then went to Bellevue Hospital Medical college, New York city, and for three years remained there, graduating in 1881. Returning to his native county, he located at Glade Springs, where he practiced four years and then spent the winter of 1884-85 at the university of Pennsylvania, acting at the same time as assistant to H. F. Formad in the pathological department of that institution. During the

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winter he took a course in the hospitals at Philadelphia and the following sum- mer (1885) came back to Atlanta and established the practice which he now enjoys. Dr. Crowe was in 1885 appointed lecturer to the Southern Medical col- lege on physical diagnosis and diseases of children, which chair he held until 1891, when he was elected lecturer on abdominal surgery, which position he now holds. Prominent amongst his fellow practitioners, he is a member of the State Medical association, the Atlanta Society of Medicine, the Southern Surgical and Gynecological association and is president of the Atlanta Obstetrical society. He is also a member of the Virginia State Medical association and the Academy of Medicine at Abingdon, Va. Equally a favorite in social circles, Dr. Crowe has affiliated with W. D. Luckie lodge No. 89, F. and A. M., and is past master of Liberty Hall lodge, of Liberty Hall, Va. He is likewise a member and attend- ant of the Methodist Episcopal church south, and his name is enrolled in the lists of the National Scotch-Irish society. He was twice married; first to Miss Flora Theresa Thompson, in 1882, and they had one son, Samuel. His second wife was Mary Lyons, with whom he was united in 1886, and to this second marriage have been born three children: Flora Marie, Walter A. and Arthur L. Dr. Crowe's father is James Crowe, who was born in Washington county, Va., in 1821. He is a farmer and stock-raiser, priding himself on the individual excellence and breeding of his animals. He served during the war in defense of his state. He has been elected to many offices in the gift of the people, representing his district in the state legislature and his county as supervisor. He married Eliza A. Edmanson and they had three children, of whom Dr. W. A. Crowe is the youngest. The others are: Elizabeth, wife of W. W. Prunee, Friendship, Va., and Mattie J., wife of Rev. W. H. Price, Glade Springs, Va. James Crowe's father was also James Crowe, and was born either in Scotland or soon after his parents landed on American shores. They settled in Pennsylvania and James Crowe came in early manhood to Virginia, where he lived a prosperous life and died at a ripe age. Dr. Walter Andrew Crowe is well known in the journalistic branch of his profession, having contributed many widely read articles to the medical magazines and read many papers before the societies of which he is a member. Among his best works are the following: "The Treatment of Abortion and Some of the Complications Incident Thereto," which was read before the State Medical association in Columbus, Ga., May, 1892; "Some Important Con- siderations in the Management of Cases After Coelitomy," which was read No- vember, 1893, before the meeting of the Southern Surgical and Gynecological association at New Orleans; "Cancer of the Uterus, the Remote Results of Operative Interference," which was read before the State Medical association, April, 1894, and a paper on "Treatment of Some of the Most Common Forms of Pelvic Congestion in the Female," read before the meeting of the Georgia State Medical association, at Americus, 1893.

MR. LAURENT DE GIVE, consul for Belgium, and owner of the Grand and Marietta street theaters, of Atlanta, Ga., was born in Belgium in 1828, and there resided until thirty-two years of age. He applied himself studiously in the schools of his native country and graduated from the university of Liege in 1853 with the degree of LL. D., having passed with highest honors through the law department. He began the practice of law in Namur, Belgium, and continued for seven years, meeting with steady and growing success. During this period he was for four years a member of the provincial council, an elective body cor- responding to the state legislature in the United States. In 1859 Mr. De Give was appointed by his government consul at the residence of Atlanta and com-

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missioner to assist in establishing direct trade with the south. He soon discov- ered the great future of this country and resolved to make Georgia his permanent home. Since 1860 he has resided in Atlanta, and he has held to this day his position of consul. On arriving in Atlanta he had in his possession a small fortune, and believing in Atlanta's future growth to a metropolis, invested largely in real estate. After the war he sold to the Masons the site of the opera house on Marietta street, their intention being to erect a magnificent Masonic temple. But their plans failed when only half realized, and Mr. De Give was compelled to purchase the half finished building, and out of it built Atlanta's first com- plete theater. Though popular with all classes of people, amongst whom he has lived over thirty-five years, he has never held office because he is not a natural- ized citizen. In 1857, while yet a resident of Belgium, Mr. De Give was united in marriage and has had seven children, three of whom died in infancy, and one, Paul, passed away in February, 1894, at the age of twenty-seven years, on the very verge of manhood. He was loved and admired by all, with an intellect to grasp and solve the weighty problems that beset mankind. His death was deeply deplored. The three other children are as follows: Louise, wife of Ed- ward Horine, of Atlanta; Henry, a graduate of the Troy, N. Y., Polytechnic school, who is at present a civil engineer, and Julius, a graduate of the Georgia Technological school of Atlanta, and a mechanical engineer. Mr. De Give has frequently been interested in large business enterprises and has demonstrated a capacity for financering that has placed him among the moneyed men of the city. He is a Roman Catholic by faith and a member of the Elks. Mr. De Give has been continually honored by his sovereign, the king of Belgium. In 1880 the cross of the order of Leopold was bestowed on him, and lately the cross of the order of Merit-Civil was added to the first in recognition of his long and splendid service. The Grand theater, which ranks among the first in America for beauty and exquisite finish, is proudly spoken of by Atlantians and stands a monument to Mr. De Give's pluck and energy and his exalted opinion of Atlanta's culture. He has the development of his city at heart.

DR. KINSMAN CLINTON DIVINE, one of the foremost medical specialists of Atlanta, was born on his father's plantation in Jefferson county, Mississippi, Sept. 27, 1833, and there resided until he was four years old, when his parents took him to Madison county, same state, and brought him up there. He gained his education in Madison college, of Sharon, in the latter county, and began the study of medicine with the late Dr. O'Leary when he had finished his academic course. From the outset he determined that his instruction in medicine should be most thorough, and the history of his collegiate and hospital course shows that he carried out his determination to the very letter. First he attended lectures at the Louisville medical college in the winter of 1854-5, and then entered the university of New York, from which he graduated in March, 1856. Fulfilling his original desire to gain as thorough a knowledge as possible of his subject, he sought a vast amount of private instruction during his attendance at this institution. His private instructors were Drs. P. A. Aylette, T. G. Thomas and Donega. He was on the private clinical staffs of Prof. G. Gunning, S. Bedford, Dr. W. H. Van Buren, and of Dr. C. E. Isaacs-the last named being then considered one of the best anatom- ists living. After his graduation, and in connection with his other work, he acted as house surgeon in King's county hospital, Flatbush, N. Y., for one year. In May, 1857, he was elected by the King's county hospital board to represent it at the meeting of the United States medical association, which convened at Nash- ville, Tenn. Dr. Divine subsequently began the practice of general medicine at his

R. T. DORSEY.

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old home, Sharon, Miss., and continued there until the opening of the war. He entered the Confederate service as surgcon in May, 1861, and afterward displayed in his military life the same indomitable energy he exhibitcd in his collegiate days. First, he was assigned to the Eighteenth Mississippi regiment and was with it at the first battle of Manassas, and at Leesburg, Va .; after which fight he was transferred to Pensacola, Fla., where he served until 1862, when that city was evacuated. Sent then to Mobile, Ala., he was very soon afterward at his own request dispatched to the front, going to Corinth, Miss., with the army of the Tennessee with which he remained until the autumn of 1863. At that time he was ordered to relieve Sur- geon Cowan, at Pulaski, Tenn., where the latter was post surgeon. Dr. Divine stayed at this point about six weeks only. After the battle of Perryville, Ky., he was left in charge of all the army surgeons in the Confederate service then in that state, being located two miles northeast of Perryville at McDowell's Place for two weeks. He was ordered to Louisville, from there to Memphis, and finally to Tullahoma, Tenn., where he rejoined Gen. Walthall's staff on which he served until the spring of 1863. Then he was transferred to Pulaski as above noted and from there to Newnan, Ga., where he had charge of the hospital. The scene of his next duty was Macon, Ga., where he was again placed in charge of the hospital, Fair Ground No. 2, and subsequently he was kept going from place to placc until the war closed, at which time he was serving at Cuthbert, Ga., having just made arrangements to treat all wounds requiring particular care that had been received by soldiers under his charge. After the surrender he journeyd without a dollar in his pocket to Canton, Miss., where he began the practice of his profession afresh, and remained until 1872, in which year he removed to Newnan, Ga., and entered into partnership with Dr. A. B. Calhoun, with whom he was associated for two years. On account of ill-health, however, he was compelled to relinquish his pro- fession, so he retired to a plantation near Newnan, living in the country eight years. In 1882 he determined to resume active work, and locating in Atlanta began again the general practice of medicine, which he carried on until 1892, when he contracted the field of his labor and now makes a specialty of general surgery and treatment of rectal diseases. Dr. Divine is a member of the Georgia State Medical association, and the Atlanta Society of Medicine. He is a Knight Tem- plar, a Knight of Honor (being an examiner of that order), and is an honored inember of St. Phillips' Cathedral Episcopal church. He married in May, 1863, Martha Frances Calhoun, a daughter of Dr. A. B. Calhoun, and they have two chil- dren, Kinsman C., and Frances D., wife of Arnold Broyles, a prominent attorney of Atlanta. Dr. Divine's father was Kinsman Divine, a native of Connecticut, who was a soldier in the Seminole war and afterward married Elizabeth Saunders. The grandfather was William Divine, a revolutionary soldier, who was born in New York, and after the revolution settled in Connecticut and was married there, moving at a later date to Mississippi. Dr. Divine is now surgeon of Fulton county post, Confederate Veterans, and shortly after his graduation from the uni- versity of New York was appointed surgeon in the Russian army to serve in Russia, but declined the appointment.

JUDGE RUFUS T. DORSEY. No lawyer in Georgia is more splendidly equipped for the practice of his profession than Judge Rufus T. Dorsey, of Atlanta. Not only as an advocate before the jury, displaying the rich and varied qualifications of the orator, but as a pleader, in the legal sense of that expression, Judge Dorsey has no superior in the state and perhaps few, if any, in the south. The combination of these rare gifts, in such an eminent degree, has frequently been the subject of admiring comment among his brethren and associates at

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the bar. By reason of these versatile accomplishments, Judge Dorsey feels equally at home in the trial of both criminal and civil issues and is alike convincing in his arguments, both to the court and to the jury. Judge Dorsey has always been a deep student and is loyal to the principles and ethics of his profession. The subject of this sketch was born in Fayetteville, Ga., on Oct. 2, 1848, and is there- fore a native Georgian. His father, Solomon D. Dorsey, was also a native of this state and for many years a resident of Fayette county. He was a farmer by prefer- ence of occupation, choosing to devote his energies to the cultivation of the soil rather than to court the various disappointments and vexations incident to busi- ness life and to the learned professions. For a number of years before the war he was a colonel of militia, and for quite a while during the war he continued to hold this military rank. Enlisting in the active service of the Confederacy he became a lieutenant in the Second Georgia regiment, and served with conspicuous gallantry throughout the war. Col. Dorsey was a man of superior force of mind and strength of character. He exerted a marked influence over his fellow-men and was held in the highest esteem and respect by all classes in the community. The boyhood, youth and early manhood of Judge Dorsey were passed in Fayette county. He received his primary instruction from the schools at Fayetteville, and subsequently attended a select school at Campbellton, taught by Prof. W. H. Andrews. The discipline of this school and the various branches of learn- ing taught by its able instructor made the enjoyment of its curriculum equivalent to an average course of study in college. The subject of this sketch was too young to enter the army or to share any of the bitter experiences of a soldier dur- ing the late war, being only thirteen years old at the time hostilities commenced. He completed his schooling in 1868 and then, having certain predilections for the practice of the law, he began to apply himself with diligence to his legal preparations. He entered a law office in Fayetteville, Ga., and for several months. devoted himself to the acquisition and mastery of all the fundamental principles of the profession. He made a careful study of all the legal text books that were recommended to him, and having acquired a large and accurate fund of informa- tion, he formally applied for admission to the bar. He encountered no difficulty in being admitted and after passing a splendid examination he located for the practice of his profession in Fayetteville, believing that he could do as well in the home of his boyhood as anywhere else at that time. He found it rather up-hill work at the start, but his spirit never flagged and he continued to persevere in hope and study until prosperous days began to dawn on his professional horizon. In 1870 he formed a partnership with Col. Hughey of Fayetteville, which con- tinued until that gentleman moved to Texas two years afterward. The young advocate then continued to practice on his own account in the courts of that circuit until 1880. He then came to Atlanta and opened an office, believing that a broader field of usefulness and higher professional honors awaited him in the capital city. - In 1889 he formed a partnership with Mr. Albert Howell, Jr., the youngest son of Capt. Evan P. Howell of Atlanta, and two years later Col. P. H. Brewster was admitted, making the firm of Dorsey, Brewster & Howell, one of the strongest legal combinations in the city. Going back a few years: the subject of this sketch in 1873 was elected to a seat in the Georgia legislature as representa- tive from Fayette county. He enjoyed the gratifying distinction of being the first democratic representative from that county since the war. Republican influence dominated that portion of the state for several years after the war and controlled the ballot-box. As an evidence of the high prestige attained by Judge Dorsey as a member of the legislature it is sufficient to observe that he was appointed on the general judiciary committee and also on the committee on

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appropriations. He took an active and eloquent part in all the important debates on the floor of the house and made a useful and patriotic member of that body. Shortly after coming to Atlanta the subject of this sketch, in 1883, was appointed judge of the city court of Atlanta. He filled the position for only one year, but discharged the duties of this high office with such ability as to win the encomiums of the bar, as well as expressions of high praise from the public generally. His resignation was received with regret by the bar and citizens of Atlanta. Judge Dorsey was married in 1870 to Miss Sarah M. Bennett, daughter of Mr. C. E. Bennett of Fayetteville, Ga. They have six children, four boys and two girls, and together they form a bright and attractive household. Judge Dorsey is a member of the Methodist church, and for several years has been a leading steward of Trinity church. He is loyal to his denomination and takes a deep and frequently a very active interest in all religious work. His chief aim in life is not to accumulate money, but to accomplish good and in the furtherance of this en- deavor he has made his life a blessing to the church and to the community. Judge Dorsey's grandfather, John Dorsey, came to Georgia from Maryland, and died in this state in 1872 at a ripe old age. He followed the time-honored pro- fession of the plow, and by diligence and economy accumulated considerable wealth. The family is of English descent, and the sturdy characteristics of that blood have been exemplified in all of its generations. Judge Dorsey's brother, John M. Dorsey, served throughout the entire war as a private in the Tenth Georgia regiment. He was several times wounded, receiving his severest ones at Gettysburg and Cold Harbor. The success of Judge Dorsey at the bar has not only been due to his fine legal equipment, but to the high sense of honor that has always characterized his professional conduct, and to his uncompromising in- tegrity.

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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 111

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