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 129

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 129

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associated with him for several years in the west. This firm was the pioneer in this line of business in Georgia, and several million dollars were brought into the state by them for the benefit of the farming classes. Mr. Nelson had not been a citizen of Atlanta long before he was elected by the city council as street com- missioner. His zeal in behalf of the city's interests made itself apparent to such a degree that in 1886 he was elected, by a handsome vote, to a seat in the city council, as a representative from the fourth ward. During his term of service he was appointed by Mayor Tyler Cooper as chairman of the relief, water works, and member of the finance, sanitary and sewer committees, positions of grave responsibility. His fellow members give him the credit of having carefully and faithfully performed every duty delegated to him and of being one among the best members of that body. He was largely helpful in the preparation of the report recommending the erection of a city hospital, presented to the council in 1888. The efforts of this relief committee in connection with those of a com- mittee of physicians and citizens, Dr. Hunter P. Cooper, chairman, whose report was embodied in that of the relief committee, was greatly helpful in creating the sentiment that resulted in the erection of the Grady hospital. Mr. Nelson has always been a true friend to charity. He is at present a trustee for the Home for the Friendless, the institution of which Mrs. Nelson has been, since its organ- ization, the president. He belongs to the masonic fraternity, is a member of the Central Congregational church of Atlanta, and was recently elected commander of the department of Georgia of the Grand Army of the Republic. Mr. Nelson was united in marriage on Oct. 20, 1866, to Miss Eliza M. Hendry. They have five children living, as follows: Levi D .; Frances, the wife of Charles G. Beck; Edith M., George and Adelaidc, and their oldest and youngest sons, Herbert and Charles, are buried in Iowa. Mr. Nelson has one of the most elegant homes in Atlanta. It is situated on the boulevard and is surrounded by extensive grounds, delightfully shaded. The success achieved by the subject of this sketch has been earned by diligent and persevering work, and his influence in the com- munity is that of a loyal, upright and conscientious citizen.

ROBERT TAYLOR NESBITT, present state commissioner of agriculture of Georgia, was born in Savannah, Ga., April 2, 1840. His father, Dr. H. O'K. Nesbitt, of Augusta, was a thoroughly educated physician, having spent several years abroad, principally in Paris, preparing for his life-work. Returning to this country in 1838 he met and afterward married Martha Deloney Berrien, which event changed the whole tenor of his life. Miss Berrien was the daughter of Dr. Richard M. Berrien of Savannah, youngest brother of John McPherson Berrien. Dr. Berrien, already distinguished in his profession, died at the early age of twenty-five, a victim to the yellow fever scourge of 1820. He remained at his post in Savannah and after ministering to many sufferers of that fearful epidemic, himself fell, a sacrifice to duty. At the time of Miss Berrien's marriage to Dr. Nesbitt the bulk of her property was in lands and negroes and, as was so often the case, the responsibility of their charge caused an entire change in Dr. Nesbitt's plans. He gave up his cherished project of becoming a distinguished physician and devoted himself to the care and development of his own and his wife's estate. It will thus be seen that R. T. Nesbitt, the subject of the present sketch, was from his earliest infancy associated with agricultural pursuits, and the tastes which he developed for a planter's life were thus fostered by both education and environment. The earlier years of his education were conducted in Athens, Ga. Afterward his parents moved to Marietta, where his studies were prosecuted under the most competent teachers. His father died while he was

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still a youth, leaving him the protector of his widowed mother and his two sisters. Under the care of a tutor he was prepared for college. Entering college at Davidson, N. C., then under the presidency of Dr. Morrison and during the pro- fessorhip of Maj. (afterward Gen.) D. H. Hill, he spent two years. He then took charge of the planting interests of his mother, his sisters and himself, in Early county, Ga. At the beginning of the war between the states he had just attained his majority. Leaving his business in the hands of agents, he enlisted in the army, and in July, 1861, went as a private with Cobb's legion to Virginia. The terrible experiences of the campaigns during the four years of bloodshed and suffering almost shattered his health, which had been gradually undermined by hardship and exposure, and he has always suffered from its effects. On May 4, 1865, he was married to Rebecca Lanier Saffold, daughter of William O. and Mary L. Saffold, and granddaughter of Judge A. G. Saffold and Gen. Jeptha V. Harris. From the time of his marriage until 1882 he planted in Early county, Ga., and a part of that time also in Henry county, Ala. In 1882 he moved with his family to Cobb county, Ga., where he has farmed ever since. He was elected in 1868 to and served a term in the state senate from the ninth district. In 1890 he was elected to the office of state commissioner of agriculture, which he now holds and to which he has been twice re-elected, having performed its responsible and intri- cate duties with credit to himself and satisfaction to the people.

JUDGE WILLIAM T. NEWMAN. The grave responsibilities of high judicial office impose a burden upon the wearers of the ermine that few can measure or appreciate; but these responsibilities only increase the dignity and honor of the bench when associated with a fearless administration of the law and a rigid personal integrity. It is not invidious to say that an abler, purer, or more con- scientious judicial officer never adorned the Federal bench in Georgia than Judge William T. Newman. Judge William Truslow Newman was born in Knoxville, Tenn., on June 23, 1843. His early youth was spent in the neighborhood of this cultured and progressive center, and from the private schools of that city he chiefly derived his education. He was still a mere youth at the time hostilities were declared between the north and the south, but being an ardent young southerner he enlisted in the Confederate service before he attained his eighteenth year. He joined the Lookout Rangers, a cavalry company, organized at Chattanooga, Tenn., under the command of Capt. W. F. Ragsdale. This company was subsequently assigned to duty, and known as Company H, in the Second Tennessee regiment of cavalry. Though mustered in as a private, the martial spirit of the young soldier was not long in making itself apparent, and he was soon promoted to the rank of lieutenant. His career of active military service ended in July, 1864. It was not the wish of the young soldier to abandon the service of his country, but a serious wound received at Jonesborough, Ga., causing the loss of his right arm, forced him to retire involuntarily from the field. As soon as he was able to mount his horse he started for the front, regardless of his disabilities, and was on his way to rejoin his command, when Gen. Lee surrendered. Lieut. Newman, during the period of his active service, made a gallant record as a fighter, and participated in quite a number of engagements. Among these may be named the battle of Fishing Creek, in Kentucky, where Gen. Zollicoffer was killed; the engagements attendant upon the occupation of Cumberland gap by the Federal troops under Gen. Morgan, of Ohio; and the fighting at Perryville, and the other engagements, resulting from Gen. Bragg's invasion of Kentucky. After his campaign in the blue grass state the young lieutenant served in the army of Tennessee, taking part in the battle of Murfreesboro. He then served for several months in Tennessee

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and Kentucky, in the cavalry brigade, commanded by Gen. John Pegram. This brigade figured in quite a number of lively skirmishes during the course of its raid, and Lieut. Newman, who kept at the front of the column, received a severe wound in the leg and was captured at Somerset, Ky. He was first sent to Lexington, Ky., and afterward to Camp Chase, at Columbus, Ohio. His prison experiences terminated on Johnson's Island, in Lake Erie. Here he remained a prisoner of war until August, 1863, when he was exchanged at City Point, arriving in Rich- mond, Va., a short while afterward. From Richmond he returned to Knoxville to rejoin his command. It was just retreating from Knoxville with the troops evacuating that city at the approach of Gen. Burnside. He participated with his regiment in all the engagements leading up to the battle of Chickamauga, one of the bloodiest encounters of the war. Lieut. Newman's command opened the engagement, and during the subsequent encounter with the enemy suffered the severest loss, both of officers and men. Lieut. Newman then accompanied Gen. Wheeler on his famous raid through Tennessee, fighting with him almost daily. Soon after this he went into winter quarters at Dalton, Ga., though his command was often engaged in active service in that immediate vicinity. Gen. Johnston's celebrated retreat from Dalton began in the spring of 1864, and daily engagements followed each other in quick and fatal succession. Lieut. Newman was in the fights at Dalton, Resaca, Adairsville, New Hope Church, and the battles around Atlanta. On July 29 Lieut. Newman was sent with Gen. W. H. Jackson's brigade to intercept the raid of Gens. Stoneman and McCook. It was on the following day, in the execution of this order, that he lost his right arm. His command came upon the Federal cavalry between Jonesboro and Lovejoy's Station, and found them engaged in tearing up the track of the Macon & Western, now the Central, railroad. It was in this engagement that Lieut. Newman received the wound that disabled him and caused the loss of his arm. At the close of the war, having recovered from his wounds, he was on his way to rejoin his command when he heard of Gen. Lee's surrender. He remained with relatives in Virginia until the surrender of Gen. Johnston's command at Greensborough, N. C. In June, 1865, having received his parole at Liberty, Va., he started for his home in Knoxville, Tenn., walking the greater part of the way. He remained in Knoxville for two or three months, and during this time he carefully considered the future, and reasoned with himself as to the best means of earning a livelihood. He had lost his right arm, and this only increased the embarrassment of the situation, and made the outlook more uncertain. Atlanta, at that time, was just beginning to emerge from the smoke and ashes to which she had been reduced by the invading army of Gen. Sherman, and he decided to cast his lot in that city. Soon after his arrival in Atlanta he began the study of law in the office of Judge John L. Hopkins, a native Tennessean who had preceded him to that city by only a few months. In November, 1867, the young law student was admitted to the bar in La Grange, Ga. He began the practice in Atlanta, and has since enjoyed the emoluments of his profession in that city, advancing rapidly until his final promotion to the Federal bench. In 1871 he was elected by the city council attorney for the city of Atlanta, and filled that position with distinguished ability until 1883, a period of twelve years. In 1886, on the death of Judge McCay, he was appointed by President Cleveland as judge of the United States court for the northern district of Georgia. Judge Newman has since continued to occupy this position in the display of talents that have demonstrated his fitness for the bench, and in the spirit of a blind impartiality that no one has ever been able to impeach. Judge Newman is connected with the First Presbyterian church, of Atlanta. In September, 1871, he was united in marriage to Miss Fanny Percy Alexander, daughter of Hon.

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Ebenezer Alexander, for many years the judge of the Knoxville circuit court, of Tennessee, and one of the most honored and distinguished citizens of that state. Judge Newman has six children -- two sons and four daughters-and his home life is one of ideal charm and felicity. Judge Newman's father, Henry B. Newman, was a native of Tennessee. At the time of his death, which occurred in 1849, he was the register of deeds for Knox county. He was a gallant captain in the Mex- ican war, and was a man of unswerving fidelity and patriotism. Judge Newman was only a small boy at the time of his father's death.

DR. WILLIAM PERRIN NICOLSON was born in Middlesex county, Va., Feb. 4, 1857, there received his early education and lived until he was seven- teen years old. Being the son of a physician, young Nicolson naturally desired to devote himself to that profession, and in 1875 entered the medical department of the university of Virginia, graduating there a year later. He then attended the Medical college of Virginia, at Richmond, from which he received a diploma in 1877, and was subsequently interne at the hospital at Richmond for two years. In 1879 the Southern Medical college, of Atlanta, was organized and Dr. Nicol- son elected to the chair of anatomy, to which clinical surgery was added in 1882. In the latter year he was elected dean of the faculty, and still holds both offices. Dr. Nicolson is a member of the Georgia State Medical association, the Atlanta Medical society, the Southern Surgical and Gynecological association, he Ameri- can Medical society, and the Medical society of Virginia. He is chief medical examiner for Georgia for the Equitable Life Assurance society of the United States, and chief medical examiner for the same company in Atlanta. He is also medical examiner for the Connecticut Mutual and the Travelers' Insurance com- panies, of Hartford; the United States Life, the Manhattan Life, the Germania Life, the Home and the Washington Life Insurance companies, of New York, and the Union Central, of Portland, Me. He takes an active part in the orders of I. O. O. F. and the Knights of Pythias. Dr. Nicolson is a prominent member of St. Philip's Episcopal church. He was married twice, first to Kate, daughter of Col. H. D. Whitcomb, and had no children by this marriage. In 1891 he was married to Miss Caroline, daughter of Maj. Benj. E. Crane, who served as a major in the Confederate army and was later a prominent merchant in Atlanta and president of the chamber of commerce when he died, in 1887. Dr. Nicolson's father, Dr. George L. Nicolson, a direct descendant of the Wormleys, of Rose Gale, Va., was born in Middlesex county, Va., and received his medical education at Jefferson Medical college, in Philadelphia, of which he was a graduate, and in Paris, where he studied three years. Dr. George L. Nicolson practiced all his life in his native county in Virginia, dying there in 1883, at the age of sixty-four years. He was for many years a member of the state legislature from his county. He married Betty, daughter of Charles C. and Mary (Stiff) Wellford. They had eight children, of whom seven are living. Dr. Nicolson's grandfather, George Nicolson, was a native of Scotland. From his excellent ancestry, Dr. Nicolson inherits many commendable traits, and has won for himself an enviable position in professional and social circles.

DR. . G. H. NOBLE. Atlanta is second to no city in the United States of its size in the rank of its physicians. The number of its doctors and surgeons who enjoy a national reputation through professional skill and contributions to the journals of science are many. Among this brilliant array is Dr. George H. Noble, who was born in the city of Atlanta Feb. 25, 1860. He is the son of James Noble. a native of England, who was for years a well-known resident of Atlanta,

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a leader in business and social circles. He is now a large iron manufacturer at Anniston, Ala., and was one of the founders of that thrifty city. Dr. Noble attended the public schools of Rome, Ga., in his youth and finished his education in Atlanta. He commenced the study of medicine in 1879, under the late Dr. V. H. Taliaferro, whose fame as a physician extended throughout the entire country. In 1881 Dr. Noble was graduated from the Atlanta Medical college. He began the practice of his profession at once, being associated with Dr. Talia- ferro, but in a few months left Atlanta to take a special course at Bellevue Hospital Medical college, and at the Women's hospital, in the state of New York. He then received clinical instructions at Mt. Sinai college and at Manhattan Eye and Ear hospital, and personal instructions by many of the leading men in the city of New York, such as Sims, Emmet, Fordyce, Barker and others. Thor- oughly equipped for resuming his place in the Atlanta field, Dr. Noble returned and has continued to practice here. A close student and indefatigable worker, possessing a calm and placid temperament and fine mental attainments, he has achieved a great success. He makes a specialty of diseases of women. He is a member of the Medical Association of Georgia, the Southern Gynecological association, Atlanta Medical society, Atlanta Obstetrical society and the Tri- State Medical association. Notwithstanding his busy life Dr. Noble finds time to write some interesting papers, which have been read before the associations to which he belongs and published in leading medical journals of the country.

- These articles, showing a remarkable research and advancing important ideas, have attracted the attention of leading members of the profession in various states. Among these papers were: "Abortive Treatment of Mammary Abscess by a New and Effectual Compress." This paper received very high compliments from the leading members of the profession, both in this country and in Europe, and from the late Dr. J. Marion Sims especially. The "New England Medical Monthly," and the "Birmingham Medical Journal" of Birmingham, England, gave it very high endorsements. "Suspension or Inanition of Blood to the Brain in Asphyxia Pelidum of the New-born" was favorably commented on, one of the French medi- cal journals saying that the doctor was an "original thinker." Then followed other papers, all of which attracted much favorable attention, viz .: "A More Rational Method of Treating Flexions of the Uterus;" "The Use of the Tampon in Pregnancy," and much aid and contribution to a paper by the late Dr. Taliaferro on the "Uterine Tampon," which was the means of much improvement in the treat- ment of diseases of the womb. The doctor presented to the Southern Surgical and Gynecological convention a paper on "A New Operation for the Relief of Prolapsus and Procidentia of the Womb," which was pronounced by the leading members as a very ingenious operation and the best they had seen for the purpose intended. He then gave to the Medical Association of Georgia a paper entitled, "The Removal of Septic or Infectious Materials with a View of Relieving Phleg- masia Alba Dolens," and later a report of the first and only successful case of removal of cancerous womb in confinement, the title being, "A Case of Carcimonia of the Parturient Uterus Removed Three Days After Confinement-Recover- ing." This new departure was received with praise by many of the leading members of the association. The doctor was also the first man to deliberately remove with success the pregnant uterus for cancer. Other papers and reports of heroic operations with success attained, have been presented from time to time, all possessing some degree of originality. The marriage of Dr. Noble to Mary L., daughter of Dr. Taliaferro, Jan. 25, 1884, was an important event in Atlanta society. It was the union of two old families of that city, well known throughout

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the state. Dr. Noble belongs to the St. Phillip's Episcopal church, and is a vestryman of that organization.

JONATHAN NORCROSS, known as Atlanta's most historic citizen, has been identified with her interests and gradual development since the city was but the humble terminus of a railroad. He was not only one of the earliest residents, but mayor when the settlement was assuming the proportions of a large town. He has been a potent factor in almost every enterprise. He came to Atlanta in 1844, when no streets had been built, only four roads converged, known as Peach- tree, Decatur, Marietta and McDonough, and opened a general store, but soon after started a saw-mill and had his time wholly occupied in sawing cross-ties and "string-timbers" for the state road. In a few months he built a home on the site of the present air-line depot. In the latter part of 1850 he was nominated by the citizens for mayor. His opponent was L. C. Simpson, a lawyer. These factions were known respectively as the "moral" and "rowdy" parties. The campaign was heated. Mr. Norcross gathered votes by the distribution of fruit and candy, while his opponent offered whiskey and like stimulants. The "moral" clan bore off the prize. Mr. Norcross was not only mayor, but chief of police and superintendent of the streets as well, and considering that the population was but a conglomeration of railroad hands out of employment, and gambling and murder of daily occurrence, had his hands full enforcing order and maintaining peace. In the same year he established a general nierchandise store. Groceries and dry goods formed the bulk of his stock, but a sign over the front door an- nounced that "shingles and feathers" were his specialty. His labors in this undertaking were productive of merited success. While in the saw-mill business Mr. Norcross invented a vertical saw, consisting of a circular wheel forty feet in diameter, and adjusted in an almost horizontal position, with which he was able to saw about 1,000 feet of lumber per day. The timber thus prepared was utilized in building the Georgia railroad, the first locomotive of which came into the city Sept. 15, 1845. The Norcross building on Marietta street was destroyed recently because of an insecure foundation. This is now supplanted by a magnificent structure that is a fitting monument to its owner's enterprise.

Mr. Norcross has not been so deeply engrossed in his daily labors but that he could spare much time for literary pursuits, and spends many hours in his library. He has displayed remarkable authorship in The History of Democracy, The Conflict of Labor and Capital, Common Sense Views of State Sovereignty vs. United States Supremacy, and Democracy Examined. He is one of the pioneer citizens of Atlanta, possessing a vigorous intellect, a true, untarnished patriotism, and the spirit that knows not defeat. Mr. Norcross was married in April, 1845, to Mrs. Montgomery (nee Harriet N. Bogle), of Blount county, Tenn., who died in August, 1876. One son blessed this union-Rev. Virgil C., an eminent Baptist minister of Atlanta. Mr. Norcross contracted a second marriage Sept. 4, 1877, with Miss Mary Ann Hill.

WILLIAM J. NORTHEN, the thirty-sixth governor of Georgia, was born in Jones county of this state, on July 9, 1835. The sturdiness of character and the high sense of honor that have distinguished him in private and in public life are largely due, perhaps, to his Scotch ancestry. His grandfather, William Northen, settled in North Carolina. From this first American home, his father, Peter Northen, moved into Georgia, then a frontier state. He settled at Powelton, about the year 1800, and the family lived in that part of Georgia up to 1890, when his son, William J. Northen, was elected governor of his native state and removed

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to Atlanta. Peter Northen married Louisa M. Davis. The result of this marriage was several children besides the subject of this sketch. With true Scotch appre- ciation of the value of a thorough education, Peter Northen kept his son at school or college from his early childhood until he graduated from Mercer university in 1853, in his eighteenth year. His health had been somewhat injured by his long and continuous application to study, but he had become so fond of his books that the scholar almost immediately became the teacher. In 1854 he began teaching, and in 1856 he was assistant to the famous instructor, Dr. Carlisle P. Beman, in the Mt. Zion high school. In this capacity he served from 1856 to 1858, when, upon the retirement of Dr. Beman, he assumed the management of this noted school, and raised it to still higher efficiency and reputation. When war was declared between the northern and southern states Peter Northen, then nearly seventy years old, took command of a company, and William J. Northen enlisted under him as a private. At the close of the war he returned to Hancock county and reassumed control of the Mt. Zion school. Here he labored faithfully and with the greatest success. The school, under his management, became famous as an institution for the preparation of boys for colleges and universities. Young men were sent to him from every part of the state and from other states. His thorough method and the fine results of his teaching made his school as famous in Georgia and neighboring states as Eton and Rugby are in England. One inter- esting result of his long and successful career as a teacher was brought out in his candidacy for the governorship in 1890, and may be most appropriately mentioned here. As soon as his name was authoritatively published as a candidate for nomination, the boys who had gone to school to him immediately flocked to his standard, and it was found that in every part of the state he had strong sup- porters in the former scholars of Mt. Zion. These boys had now become voters and men of intelligence and influence in their respective communities. Their weight was irresistible, and the people of Georgia witnessed the rare spectacle of a teacher so honored and beloved by his pupils that they were ready to give to him their time and their labor to elevate him to the highest office in the state. It was remarked during the campaign that every man in Georgia had either gone to school to Mr. Northen or with him. In 1874 his health, which had not been strong since his school days, gave way under the severe strain to which he sub- jected himself as a teacher. To rebuild his constitution, he began farming, turn- ing his attention largely to improving the methods of butter making and to the raising of a fine breed of cattle. His thoroughness in this pursuit, as in all others, made him successful. He became one of the most prosperous and advanced farmers in the south. He made a study of all the conditions of farming, the nature of the soil and the best methods of agriculture, and he was soon recognized as the very highest authority in the state on all branches of his vocation. He has always taken the highest interest in the condition of the agricultural class, and has always been ready to serve for its improvement and progress. From the origin of the Hancock County Farmers' club he was its president and most efficient member. He was chosen as vice-president of the State Agricultural society, and shortly afterward became its president, serving in this office in 1886, 1887 and 1888. His labors in these positions have had a wide and beneficial effect upon agricultural methods throughout the state. He also served as president of the Young Farmers' Club of the Southern States, thus broadening the field of his work and influence. The first part taken in politics by the future governor was in 1867, when he was elected a member of the state democratic convention, which was the first political body to organize in Georgia after the war. He was again called upon to serve his county and state. and elected as a member of the legislature of 1877-78. In 1880,

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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 129

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