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 119

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 119

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MR. Z. D. HARRISON, attorney-at-law and clerk of the supreme court, Atlanta,

Fulton Co. The plantation has been the foster-mother of hundreds of Geor- gia's most successful and enterprising citizens. Amid the honors which have come to them, in reward of the tireless energy and fervent zeal put forth by them in quest of life's ambitious enterprises, they never forget the arcadian days of their boyhood and happy times they enjoyed down on the old farm.

It was on a farm in Randolph county, Ga., that Zadoc D. Harrison, the clerk of the supreme court of Georgia, first saw the light of day on November 26, 1842. His father, Hon. George W. Harrison, was one of the leading men of the state, and filled the high office of secretary of state for two terms prior to his death. He came to Georgia from North Carolina, having been reared among the pine trees of the tar-heel commonwealth. He died in this state in 1854. The mother of Col. Harrison is a woman of superior mind and character. Her maiden name was Frances West, and she was born and reared in this state. She is still alive at the age of eighty-seven years in full possession of all her faculties.

Mr. Harrison remained on the plantation until 1850, when his father moved to Milledgeville, after his election as secretary of state. Milledgeville was then the capital of the state, and the duties of secretary of state called Mr. Harrison's father to that city. Here the subject of this sketch received his primary education under the direction of Prof. A. L. Carrington, a noted instructor of that time. In 1859 he matriculated as a student in Oglethorpe university, and remained a student in this institution until its suspension at the breaking out of the war. Mr. Harrison volunteered as a soldier in the Confederate army, but his elder brother having substituted in his stead, he entered the office of his father's successor as secretary of state at Milledgeville, and remained in that employment for one year. He taught school at Clinton, Ga., for several years, after which he came to Atlanta, a busy, enterprising city that was rapidly advancing to the front. Soon after coming to Atlanta, in 1868, he was appointed deputy clerk of the supreme court, and after holding this position two years he was elected clerk, which office he still continues to hold.

Mr. Harrison began the study of law in the office of the late William McKinley at Milledgeville. He was admitted to the bar in 1866, and two years later formed a legal partnership with Judge William T. Newman, now on the bench of the United States district court. This partnership continued until Judge Newman's appointment as city attorney. Mr. Harrison then practiced alone for several years, after which the present firm of Harrison & Peeples was organized, the junior member of the firm being Mr. Henry C. Peeples, a talented young lawyer and the son of the late Judge Cincinnatus Peeples.

Mr. Harrison is a director and also the secretary and treasurer of the Southern Marble company. For twenty years he has been a director and vice-president or president of the Franklin Printing and Publishing company, one of the leading

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MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.

publishing houses of the south. In 1872 he was united in marriage to Miss Laura Hendree, the beautiful daughter of Dr. George Hendree of Tuskegee, Ala. Seven children have been the result of this happy union, two boys and five girls. Mr. Harrison is a consistent and loyal churchman; being a member of St. Luke's Episcopal church. He has been the senior warden of St. Luke's cathedral, Atlanta, since 1883; a delegate to every annual diocesan convention since 1873; also a deputy to every general convention since 1881; secretary of the standing committee of the diocese since 1888; and is now the chancellor of the diocese. No man enjoys more fully the esteem of his fellow-citizens than Mr. Harrison, and he has always deported himself in such manner as to merit the respect and confidence of the people of his native state.

COL. GEORGE W. HARRISON is a member of a distinguished Georgia family whose individual members have been prominent in political and social fields, and is himself an example of what energy, self-reliance and broad-minded business policy will accomplish. Few men have been enabled to accomplish in a few years what Col. George W. Harrison has done by business acumen and financial ability. Starting with a printing and publishing business in its infancy, he has steered it through financial depressions affecting the entire country, until it is now one of the largest and best equipped publishing houses in the south. While his duties as general manager are manifold and exacting, demanding a clear head, decision of character and versatility of talent, every detail passes under his super- vision, and the character of the work turned out reflects the inspiration of his genius, the excellence of his taste, and the thoroughness of his grasp on business. Included in his duties as general manager of the Franklin Printing and Publishing company is that of state printer, an office of honor and great responsibility, which he has held for several successive terms, and manager of the "Southern Culti- vator," the "Southern Architect," and the "Southern Educational Journal," each one involving labor, tact and skill. The wise, prudent and successful adminis- tration of the affairs of the company has elicited from its members, who embrace some of the strongest and most influential business men in the city in their ranks, the highest encomiums. While Col. Harrison is emphatically a business man, he is at the same time one of Atlanta's most progressive and public-spirited citizens. For a number of years he has been chairman of the statistical committee of the chamber of commerce, chairman of the postal committee of the Commercial club, and by recent appointment is a member of the state commission on irrigation. He has contributed largely to the success of meetings in the interest of agriculture, direct trade, good roads, irrigation and benevolence. While pre-eminently a man of peace, for years he has been one of Gov. Northen's staff officers, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel of cavalry. He has also been complimented by a similar appointment from Gov. W. Y. Atkinson, the compliment being the more marked by the fact that it is unusual for a governor to confer such an honor on the appointee of his predecessor. Col. Harrison is a prominent member of the First Presbyterian church and chairman of its board of deacons. He is considered one of the first citizens of Atlanta. held in high regard by all classes, and loved by his employes, who recognize in him a friend and counselor at all times. He married Miss Lucy Hayden of Atlanta, a member of a family whose connections ramify every section of the Union, embracing the wealthiest and most influential persons in their respective states-a woman whose amiability and excellence illumine and ennoble all around her. There never was a more congenial union, and

"None know them but to love,

None name them but to praise."

COL. G. W. HARRISON.

8II

FULTON COUNTY SKETCHES.

HON. WILLIAM A. HEMPHILL, a capitalist and one of Atlanta's energetic, progressive citizens, whose life has been crowned with the rewards that intel- lectual power and devotion to duty command, is a native of Georgia's "Classic City." He was born in Athens, May 5, 1842, and reared in the limits of that town, being tutored by excellent teachers and prepared for entrance into the state university, located at his home. Having arrived at the proper age, he entered this institution and graduated in the spring of 1861. He was then a boy, only nine- teen years of age, but with the inherent qualities of patriotism and loyalty to section, enlisted as a volunteer in a Confederate regiment, and immediately marched to combine with Lee's army in Virginia. His war record is well and favorably known. In the battle of Gettysburg he was dangerously wounded in the head, but after weeks of suffering and intense pain, finally recovered his former good health. Being a quiet man, of few sentences, he rarely mentions his thrilling experiences, but his friends and comrades appreciate his sacrifice for the Confed- erate cause. Mr. Hemphill came to Atlanta in 1867, and shortly after established the "Daily Constitution," of which he was business manager. The position was responsible, and required quickness of perception, far-seeing enterprise, and shrewd financial ability to forward the interests of this great daily. Mr. Hemphill has been engaged in enterprises of vast scope and magnitude. His financial sagacity and rigid discipline have been recognized and employed. He was presi- dent of the Capital City bank and the Y. M. C. A., a member of the board of aldermen, superintendent of Trinity Sunday-school, promoter of various mercan- tile interests and charitable societies, and president of the board of education. He generously encouraged Atlanta's school system, and added materially to its excel- lence. Mr. Hemphill married Mrs. Emma Luckie in 1871, and has a happy, inter- esting family, with whom he delights in passing much of his valuable time. In the social as in the commercial world he is known and admired. His unstinted aid to benevolent causes and worthy charity has signally enlarged the circle of his friends and supporters. He is not a seeker after office, though his vote and work are heartily given for democracy. Mr. Hemphill loves out-of-door life, and as a Nimrod spends many days in the field with dog and gun to gain recreation and sport. His aim is unerring and his dogs of the best breed. He prides himself on his Jersey cows and the best stock of all species. Mr. Hemphill is an invaluable citizen, with a generous heart, and a strong advocate of education and culture.

JOHN CHAPPELL HENDRIX, real estate, Atlanta, Ga., son of Luke Hendrix, was born in Lumpkin county, Ga., in December, 1834. The family is of Scotch origin; the progenitors of the American branch having emigrated from Scotland to this country, and settled in Maryland in 1665. Capt. Hendrix's grandfather, Hillary Hendrix, was a native of North Carolina, and was a soldier in the patriot army during the Revolutionary war. Capt. Hendrix was raised in Lumpkin county, where he received such education as the schools of the time and locality afforded. In 1859 he came to Atlanta, and after clerking a year went into a general merchandising business. In May, 1861, he entered the quarter- master's department, where he remained three months. He then organized an artillery company-of which he was elected a lieutenant-which was assigned to Wright's Legion. After serving eighteen months with this command he raised a battalion of cavalry-of which he was made ranking captain-practically commanded the battalion as major, though not commissioned. He resigned in May, 1864, on account of impaired health, and was placed on Gov. Brown's staff with the rank of colonel, and served as such until the war closed, surrendering at Macon, where he had been stationed for some time. From September, 1864, to

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the time of the surrender he owned and ran a newspaper called the "Southern Confederacy." When with his first command he was present at the capture of Fort Pulaski; and with his cavalry command he actively raided on the flanks of the Federal army in North Carolina, East Tennessee and Georgia. He also partici- pated in the battles of Lookout Mountain, Dalton, Resaca, Kingston, Altoona, Kennesaw Mountain, and the opening engagements around Atlanta. He was then transferred to Gov. Brown's staff, on which he remained until the surrender. Capt. Hendrix, though always in active and frequently in perilous service, escaped capture and wounds, but had several horses shot. After the war he returned to Atlanta and commenced the manufacture of machinery, and in 1868, was elected secretary of the senate, which office he held in 1868-69-70. After that he went into the flour milling business, which he followed five years, then engaged in miscellaneous trading. In 1880 he embarked in the real estate business, in which he has since prosperously continued. In 1882 he organized the Mutual Building and Loan association, of which he was elected secretary and treasurer, and served until 1889, when he wound it up. He was a member of the city general council 1889-90; was chairman of the committee on sewers, and during his time had built two main sewers at a cost of $180,000. He was also chairman of the committee on ordinances, and a member of the committees on finance, streets, electric lights, etc. In 1891 Capt. Hendrix was elected a member of the city board of education for six years, and is chairman of the building committee. He is also a director of the Capital City bank. Capt. Hendrix is a man of deep and strong convictions, and though unobtrusive is none the less fearless and inflexible in maintaining them. He is an industrious worker in whatever he undertakes, and persistent in his efforts; and whenever and wherever called on to aid in matters promotive of improvement or development, renders valuable service. Capt. Hendrix was married in Forsyth county, Ga., in 1854, to Miss Mary, daughter of Judge Robert Mooney. Of the children born to them six are living: Samantha, wife of W. H. Smith; Austin L .; Nettie, wife of J. W. Davidson; Georgia, wife of Saxon Douglas; Mamie, wife of A. L. Anderson; Johnnie-a daughter. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., and a Royal Arch Mason. He is also an active, exemplary member of the Methodist church, prominent and untiring in all church work, and a generous contributor. He was superintendent of Payne's Chapel Sunday school fourteen years, and has been superintendent of the Sunday school at Grace church twelve years, a position he still holds with unflagging religious zeal and no sign of physical fatigue.

THOMAS J. HIGHTOWER. As a progressive business man and a thoroughly conscientious and upright citizen, this gentleman has always enjoyed the confidence and esteem of the community.

Thomas Jefferson Hightower was born in Parrottsville, East Tennessee, on Oct. 29, 1829. His grandfather, Thomas Hightower, was a native of South Carolina, and a gallant soldier in the American Revolution. His father, Allan Hightower, was also a native of South Carolina and a very successful planter and stock-raiser of that state. The maiden name of Mr. Hightower's mother was Louisa Jefferson. She was a native of Virginia and a member of that distinguished family to which the illustrious Thomas Jefferson belonged.

The boyhood and early youth of Mr. Hightower were spent in his native village in Tennessee, and from the institutions of that neighborhood he derived a common school education. At the age of eighteen he began to shift for himself and settled in Dahlonega for the purpose of digging gold. He failed, however, to gratify his ambition in this direction and decided to abandon the enterprise, since ill-luck had

FRANKUNG .ENS-COVt.

CHARLES D. HILL.

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FULTON COUNTY SKETCHES.

deprived it of all its former fascination. He clerked for a year in a grocery store at Dahlonega, and then located in Forsyth county, a few miles distant, where he found employment as a clerk, retaining his position for four years. After this he clerked in a grocery store in Rome, Ga., for two years. He was then overtaken for the second time by the gold fever, and set out for the mountains of California, going by the way of the Isthmus of Panama and taking a two month's trip. After a rugged experience of two years in the west, dividing his time between the gold fields and a general merchandise business, he returned to Georgia, in 1854, locating in Forsyth county. He was then and there united in marriage to Miss Eliza E. Henderson, a lovable and gentle lady, who died in 1886, leaving seven children, as follows: Milton H., Allan R., Harry H., Thomas J., Jr., John B., Albert S., Ida R., wife of William J. Montgomery, and Mark.

In 1854, the year of his marriage, Mr. Hightower opened a general store in Cherokee county, which he operated until the spring of 1862. He then sold out his business for the purpose of accepting an appointment under the Confederate government in the quartermaster's department, with headquarters located in Atlanta. Here he remained until the close of the war.

After the war he engaged in the grocery business in Atlanta, the firm being that of Ford, Hightower & Co. Their place of business was on Mitchell street. Two years after this Mr. Ford sold out his interest and the business was conducted under the firm name of Hightower & Co. From 1872 to 1876 Mr. Hightower carried on the business alone, forming a partnership with Mr. J. C. Hallman after the expiration of that time. Honest methods and a steadfast devotion to the principles of fair dealings have made the firm of Hightower & Hallman one of the leading wholesale grocery establishments of the south.

Mr. Hightower served as a member of the state senate during the sessions of 1859 and 1860. He has always manifested a deep interest in public affairs but has never allowed his political aspirations to interfere with his business engage- inents. He prefers the uneventful life of a busy merchant to the more conspicuous role of a public servant. Mr. Hightower is a blue lodge Mason and a consistent member of the First Baptist church. He was married for the second time in De- cember, 1887, to Miss Georgia A. Nichols, a cultured and accomplished young lady of Griffin, Ga., and his home life has been a very happy one. Still vigorous and strong in the enjoyment of a robust constitution, Mr. Hightower has the promise of many additional years in which to illustrate the qualifications of a successful business man.

MR. CHARLES D. HILL. Judged by his official record, as well as by the opinion of the bar and general public, the ablest prosecuting officer in the state is Mr. Charles D. Hill, the brilliant solicitor-general of the Atlanta circuit. Felicitous of speech, quick at repartee, ready at all times with bright and sparkling quotations from his favorite authors, and rich in all the varied resources and accomplishments of the orator, the subject of this sketch stands without a peer among the able and distinguished prosecuting officers of Georgia. Mr. Hill possesses a peculiar mind. It is not only quick in its perceptions, but remarkably firm in its retentiveness. He never makes a note in the trial of any case, however important it may be, and never mistakes the evidence in the argument of his cause to the jury. His preparations are purely mental and in none of his great speeches has he employed the use of a pencil. Perhaps no lawyer at the bar possesses a more prodigious memory. Judge Richard H. Clarke, who has presided over nearly all the criminal proceedings in which Mr. Hill has been engaged during his official tenure, and whose opinion of his talents is based upon the severe and oft

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MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.

recurring tests of the court-room, says of Solicitor Hill: "He is very much like his distinguished father. I consider him one of the brightest men I have ever known. Judges frequently complain of the tedium of the court-room and the tiresome monotony of worn-out jokcs and flights of eloquence on the part of their prosecut- ing officers, but I have never had reason to make this complaint against Mr. Hill." The varied experience of Judge Clarke, extending over a period of more than fifty years at the bar and on the bench, increases the value of this compliment and makes it one of which Mr. Hill has every reason to be proud. Mr. Charles D. Hill, the subject of this sketch, was born near La Grange, in Troup Co., Ga., on Nov. 3, 1852. His father, the late lamented senator, Benjamin H. Hill, one of the most gifted and patriotic men that Georgia ever produced, had just entered public life as a member of the Georgia legislature and was beginning to electrify the country with that surpassing eloquence that was destined a few years later to hurl its bitter denunciations in the teeth of the plumed military of the government, and to plead for a restored union in the spirit of that often quoted sentiment: "We are in the house of our fathers and we are here to stay, thank God." After spending his boyhood days in Troup county, Charles D., in 1867, moved to Athens, Ga., with his father's family, and shortly afterward entered the law school of the state university. He graduated from this institution in 1871. Among his classmates wcre Washington Dessau and Walter B. Hill, of Macon; his brother, Benjamin H. Hill; Charles W. Seidell, of Atlanta; W. A. Broughton, of Madison, and Robert Whitfield, of Milledgeville, a group of brainy and successful young Georgians. Mr. Hill was admitted to the bar in Twiggs county, and after practic- ing for two years, with discouraging results, he decided to abandon the profession. Having a penchant for farming, he decided to devote himself to agricultural pursuits, and accordingly purchased a farm and continued to follow the plow until the death of his father in 1882. This afflictive dispensation called him to Atlanta and, after his father's death, he decided to resume the profession which had now become to him a solemn legacy. He assisted his brother in the prosecution of quite a large number of criminal cases, making a brilliant reputation by his eloquence and adroit legal manipulations. In 1885 he was called to the solicitor- ship of the Atlanta circuit, and has since been several times successively elected to the high and responsible position. Since entering upon the discharge of his duty as the state's prosecuting attorney, Mr. Hill has been a terror to evil doers and while he claims that he has never convicted an innocent man it is equally true that a guilty one has rarely ever escaped. Mr. Hill has been identified with a number of celebrated murder trials and his speeches delivered on those occasions have been masterpieces of forensic eloquence. The court-room is always crowded to overflowing as soon as the report spreads that Solicitor Hill is about to make his closing speech to the jury. No man is more truly the idol of his friends or more conspicuously the life and center of every group in which he happens to be found than Mr. Hill. His humor is always captivating, and his wit lively, good-natured and sparkling. Hc has very little artificial reserve and speaks with frankness and candor, never hesitating to give his opinion freely on any subject. Generous, open-hearted, indulgent and kind, he is one of the best of husbands as well as one of the cleverest and truest of men. Mr. Hill has frequently been urged to allow the use of his name in connection with the race for congress in the fifth district, but he has steadily declined to yicld to the earnest solicitations of his friends. He is now in partnership with his brother, under the firm name of Messrs. B. H. & C. D. Hill, and prefers to devote his time and talents exclusively to the practicc of his profession.

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GEORGE HILLYER.

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FULTON COUNTY SKETCHES.

WILLIAM PINCKNEY HILL, of the law firm of Hill & Mayson, Atlanta, was born on a farm in Troup county, Ga., May 14, 1862, remaining there until the age of fourteen years, receiving his primary education in the near-by schools and at West Point, in his native county. In 1877 he entered Emory college, Oxford, Ga., but his attendance was for only a short time. His elder brother died two months after his matriculation, and his father having died in 1875, and William P., the subject of this sketch, being the oldest male representative of the family, he returned home to assume the management of the plantation. It was not until 1879 that he could return to Emory college, when entering the fresh- man class he continued for four years, graduating in 1883 with the degree of A. B. Soon after he accepted the chair of Latin and English literature in Milan college, Tennessee, which was tendered him in acknowledgment of his distinction in these departments. Here he remained one year, when he resigned to accept a better position, as the principal of the Fredonia academy at Fredonia, Ala., which he retained for a year and a half. He had begun the study of law after graduating, and on leaving Fredonia he came to Atlanta and was admitted to the bar in June, 1885. For eighteen months he practiced alone; but on Jan. 1, 1887, he formed a partnership with James Mayson, which still continues. Mr. Hill is a democrat in his political convictions, and in 1890 was elected president of the Young Men's Democratic league, serving one year. In 1892, without his knowledge or consent, he was elected a member of the city council of Atlanta, and perceiving the honor was sincere, accepted the commission and served two years. Mr. Hill was married during September, 1891, to Miss Grace D., daughter of Judge William R. Cocke, of Albemarle county, Va. He is a Mystic Shriner and a Knight Templar Mason. In both he has displayed a conspicuous concern. Mr. Hill's father was Dr. John Stith Hill, born in Jasper county, Ga., in 1822. He was the next oldest brother of the late eminent Benjamin H. Hill, one of the south's greatest sons, whose sketch appears elsewhere in these Memoirs. He came to Troup county in his infancy with his parents, who located where the son was born. He was a physician of ability, having graduated in medicine from schools both in New Orleans and in New York. He practiced in Troup county until forty-five years old, when he retired to farming, which he followed to the time of his death in 1875. He was a brave, fearless soldier in the last war and held many positions of responsibility as surgeon, in the hospitals and elsewhere. He also took an active part in state politics; was a member of the state senate before the war, and of the lower house after peace was restored. Mr. Hill's mother, Sarah Battle Cameron, was a child of Thomas Cameron, a native of North Carolina, of Scotch descent, belonging to the clan Cameron. She gave birth to four children: Edward C .; Julia, widow of Dr. Charles Hill of La Grange, Ga .; Minnie, wife of Todd Reed of Troup county and William P., the subject of this sketch. The mother died in 1890. Mr. Hill's grandfather was John Hill, born in North Carolina and married there to Sarah Parham. Some time thereafter they removed to Jasper county, Ga. Mr. Hill's great-grandfather was a Welshman. The firm of Hill & Mayson is well and favorably known to the people of Atlanta. They pay particular attention to commercial law and litigated estates, cspecially to the former.

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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 119

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