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 133

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 133

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urinary organs and venereal diseases; Lindsay Johnson, M. D., auxiliary professor of surgery, lecturer on minor surgery, and instructor on splints and bandages; A. J. Pinson, M. D., assistant to the lecturer on minor surgery. The college build- ing was completed in November, 1879, and the school opened with sixty-four matriculates. The growth of the institution, commencing under such favorable auspices, has never relaxed, and the college, under the administration of Dr. Powell, has become one of the greatest medical institutions of the south. In October, 1882, Dr. Powell decided to erect a hospital to be operated in connection with the college. The ladies of Atlanta organized an association, and funds were raised by them for this purpose. The Central Hotel on Ivy street was subse- quently purchased, and after being improved to the extent of $2,000, was opened for the reception of patients. For several years the hospital took care of all the city patients, and managed to be self-sustaining. In 1879 a dental department was added to the college. This department for several years was under the direction of Dr. L. D. Carpenter, one of the ablest exponents of dental surgery in the south. He resigned in 1895, and was succeeded by Dr. C. V. Rosser. On account of the rapid growth of the institution it was found necessary to erect a new building for the accommodation of the students, and accordingly a magnificent brick edifice was erected a few years ago, directly in front of the Grady hospital. A separate building for the dental department was subsequently erected. The college is one of the best organized and most thoroughly equipped in the south; and its faculty, composed of the leading practitioners of Atlanta, is one of the ablest in the coun- try. The services that Dr. Powell has rendered the community and the medical profession in the establishment of this institution cannot be estimated. In life it has been to him a source of pride and delight, and in death it will prove a lasting monument to his memory. In 1847 he married Miss Julia L. Bass, daughter of Rev. Dr. Larkin Bass, and granddaughter of Gov. Rabun. She was a highly educated and accomplished lady, beloved by all who knew her for her beautiful traits of character. In December of 1882 Dr. Powell was united in marriage the second time to Mrs. Jennie Miller, of Virginia. a lady of rare beauty and mental attainments. She was a lineal descendant of a renowned Scotch family, "Rox- boro," from whom the town of Roxburough was named. In the archives of the Historical Library of Philadelphia may be found the family history from 1724 to 1880. The work is entitled "Rosebrugh," the name at present. Mrs. Powell's grandfather was a most eminent Presbyterian minister, born and educated in Scot- land, but spent the greater portion of his life in and around Philadelphia. His sons have all attained positions of honor and distinction wherever they have become citizens. His eldest son, Robert Rosebrugh, who went to Virginia in early boy- hood, was the father of Mrs. Powell. Dr. Powell is a royal arch Mason, and a member of the M. E. church.

CHARLES A. READ, the son of a prominent Virginia physician, was born in Rappahannock county, Va. He resided in the neighborhood of his birth- place until he completed his primary and high school studies, and then went to the university of his state to continue his education and pursue the higher and classic branches of literature and science. He took the degree of bachelor of law and bore triumphantly the honors of his class. In 1881 he came to Atlanta and opened a law office, and since then he has followed the practice of his chosen profession with exceptional success. Mr. Read possesses a philosophical and analytical mind, delights in research and investigation, and devotes much time to solving intricate and vexing problems that occur in all the fundamental branches of science. In 1888 he formed a partnership with H. E. W. Palmer, a

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progressive and popular lawyer of the Atlanta bar, which still continues. Mr. Read is an officer of the Young Men's Library association, a member of the Philosophical society, and secretary of the vestry and junior warden of St. Luke's Episcopal church. He has shown a conscientious devotion in laboring for church organization, and encouraging the performance of religious and moral obligations. Mr. Read was married in 1882 to Mary Brent, daughter of the late George W. Brent of Alexandria, Va. Her mother was Miss Goode, of the same city. They have one son, Herbert Read. Mr. Read is an untiring worker. He has an eager- ness for knowledge and a perseverance in obtaining it that brooks no failure, and is without limit. The demands of his profession and its duties have not prevented him from devoting a good deal of attention to literature. He contributes poetic and prose originals to the press frequently and these articles always command the respect of the best scholars. In the pursuit of his profession he is earnest and practical. He excels in orthography and in numerous competitive "spelling bees" has outclassed all opponents. Mr. Read is yet a young man and a highly esteemed member of the Atlanta bar. His profound knowledge of the fundamental princi- ples of law and his ripe scholarship entitle him to a conspicuous position among his contemporaries. This position is accorded him heartily by the entire bench and bar.

JOHN CALVIN REED, one of the lawyers of Atlanta, prominent in civil business, was born at Appling, Columbia Co., Ga., Feb. 24, 1836. He was thoroughly prepared for college by his father, a famous teacher, and, having spent three years at Princeton, N. J., he graduated, in 1854. The next three years he taught Greek and Latin in his father's school at Woodstock, in Oglethorpe county, Ga., and, in the meanwhile, under the direction of Mr. T. R. R. Cobb, he read all the books in the course of the law school of Virginia university. Having spent a few months in Mr. Cobb's law office he was called to the bar in 1857, and commenced practice at Lexington, Ga. In 1859 he removed to Greensboro, Ga., where he stayed until he entered the service of the Confederate states as second lieutenant in Company I, of the Eighth Georgia volunteers, the famous regiment of Bartow. He rose to the captaincy of his company at the Wilderness. Omitting innumerable minor engagements, he was in the first and second Manassas, Gettysburg, where he was wounded severely, the assault on Fort Loudon, the Wilderness, the fighting immediately afterward until Spottsylvania court house, the operations around Petersburg, Fuzzle's Mill, and in the last fight of his regiment, at Farmville, Va., two days before Gen. Lee's surrender. Paroled at Appomattox court house he walked home, and resumed practice as soon as the courts were opened, settling at Lexington, Ga., where he remained till Jan. 7, 1875, and, from then till the spring of 1882, when he settled in Atlanta, he was engaged as counsel in many celebrated cases in Oglethorpe, Wilkes and Taliaferro counties, of the northern circuit, and also in Clarke and Greene. His detection in December, 1868, of the thieves who had stolen some $10,000 from Dalton, and recovery of $7,000 of the money; the prosecution and conviction, in 1871, of Reese, the leader of a band of dangerous outlaws in Taliaferro; the Deupree will case, in which he was original counsel for the executors, and earned a fee of almost $5,000; his success in eight or nine homicide cases, always winning, whether he was for the prosecution or defense, are some of the experiences of his large and varied practice before he became a member of the Atlanta bar. He had a memorable political career in Oglethorpe county. Nominated by the democrats, in 1868, as candidate for the legislature, the bayonet supporting the other side, he failed of election. In the presidential election in the following November, the military being withdrawn, under his lead defaulting taxpayers were excluded from the

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polls, which resulted in a democratic victory, unexpected by all except his few chosen assistants, pledged to stand by the execution of law. For this day's good work he was reported to the reconstruction committee. In 1870 the republicans had planned to perpetuate their plunder and riot in the public property of the state. Under their new law the managers were to be of their own appointment; there were to be different polling places, and a three-days election, to give large opportunity for repeating; and the military was to be used in aid of the statute. Shortly before the election, the democratic club, bearing in mind the victory of 1868, made (to use the words of their unanimous resolution) Mr. Reed dictator, to conduct the party in the election. He provided picked men with alphabetical lists of the disqualified voters, who kept watch at every voting place, and whoever voted illegally was at once arrested on an affidavit sworn out by Mr. Reed, per- sonally. After two or three arrests the disqualified voters staid away from the poles, and the democratic victory was more decided than it was at the former election. Some two years later Mr. Reed seemed to be sure of a nomination to congress by the democrats of his district, but he succeeded in securing it for Mr. A. H. Stephens, who was not then expecting or seeking it. After this Mr. Reed turned his back on politics and devoted himself to the law more assiduously than ever. When he removed to Atlanta, in the spring of 1882, Gen. Toombs being practically out of the local practice, Mr. Reed was really the leader of the northern circuit, a circuit illustrated by W. H. Crawford, J. H. Lumpkin, Toombs and Stephens, T. R. R. Cobb, Thomas W. Thomas and other distinguished lawyers. He does a general practice in Atlanta. He is virtually out of the criminal practice, but he is engaged as counsel on some of the cases involving the largest interests in the courts. In 1873 appeared his first book, Georgia Criminal Law; in 1875 the first edition of his Conduct of Lawsuits; and in 1882 his American Law Studies. In 1876 he published, in the "International Review," his article, entitled, "The Old and New South," which was the origin of the now much-used phrase. He has by him The Life of Gen. Toombs, in manuscript, but has not yet decided to publish it. His father was Rev. John W. Reed, a Presbyterian minister, a native of North Carolina, closely related through his mother to some of the prominent signers of the Mecklenburg declaration of independence, while his paternal grandfather, a native of northern Ireland, was wounded in the leg at the battle of Brandywine while serving in the American army. Rev. John W. Reed was very famous as a school teacher, especially while he lived at Woodstock. Before this he had prepared Lyon and Benning for college, each one of whom afterward became a judge of the supreme court of Georgia. While he kept school at Woodstock, Mr. A. H. Stephens assisted many poor boys to get an education by sending them to this school, and this great man was in the habit of attending public examinations. In July, 1862, Mr. John C. Reed came home with the body of his brother, who had been mortally wounded at Seven Pines, and before his return married Gennie James, who died in 1865 without issue. He married Sarah Platt in 1880, and by her has a son, Prentiss B.

WALLACE PUTNAM REED, an editorial writer on the staff of the "Atlanta Constitution," a position which he has held since 1883, is a native of Wilcox county, Ala., where he was born in 1849. His early boyhood was passed in Mont- gomery, but in 1859 his parents moved to Atlanta, Ga., where he has since resided. His education was interrupted by the war, but two years' hard reading in a book- store, where he held a clerkship, fitted him for his chosen profession of journalism. which he entered before he was twenty. At the age of fifteen his first story appeared in the "Southern Field and Fireside," and during the past twenty-five years hun-

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dreds of his sketches and short stories have had a wide circulation. He was admitted to the bar before he was twenty-one, and during a brief period of prac- tice he held the office of solicitor of the Rockdale county court. The law proving unremunerative, young Reed gave it up and devoted himself to journalism. He edited two country papers, the "Rockdale Register" and the "Conyers Weekly," and at various times has held reportorial and editorial positions on the "Intelli- gencer," "New Era," "Post Appeal," "Journal" and "Constitution" in Atlanta, besides contributing to the "New York Independent," "Detroit Free Press," and several other periodicals and magazines. He is also the author of a History of Atlanta, a large volume of 700 pages. Mr. Reed is of northern parentage, and is a great-grand-nephew of Gen. Israel Putnam, and a lineal descendant of John Rogers, the martyr. He married Miss Kate Shaver, of Virginia, the daughter of Rev. David Shaver, D. D., a famous Baptist divine who was for many years the editor of the "Richmond Religious Herald," and the "Atlanta Christian Index."" Mr. Reed gives most of his time to his editorial work, and rarely ever takes a vacation. He is a lover of art and literature, and his books and a few congenial friends make his ideal world.

HARRY MAURRELLE REID, lawyer, Atlanta, Ga., was born in Blairsville, Union Co., Ga., Feb. 15, 1853, and lived there until he was seventeen years old, receiving his primary education at the schools at that place. In 1870 he entered Meson academy at Lexington, Ga., for the years 1870-71, and from there he went to Atlanta, studying one term at old Oglethorpe university, now extinct, and leav- ing in his junior year. Immediately afterward he commenced the study of law with a relation, Marshall L. Smith, at Dawsonville, Dawson Co., Ga., and was admitted to the bar in 1873. He located in Campbell county, Ga., and began to practice his profession in 1875, being six years later elected by the state legislature solicitor-general of Coweta circuit for the term of four years. His term of office expiring he was re-elected for four years more, and soon afterward removed to Carrollton, Ga., a city in the same circuit. In January, 1889, he came to Atlanta and very soon entered into partnership with J. B. Stewart, with whom he was asso- ciated under the firm name of Reid & Stewart until April 1, 1894. Since that date he has practiced alone. In 1887 Mr. Reid was chairman of the board of commis- sioners of Palmetto, Ga., and while a resident of Carrollton he was a member- of the board of school commissioners. Up to a late date he has always taken a very active interest in democratic politics. He is a master Mason and a member of the Presbyterian church. In 1877 he married Gertrude, daughter of John Carlton, of Campbell county, and they have two sons and two daughters: Willie Katherine and Jessie Cicely (twins), Arthur M., and Carlton. Mr. Reid's father was Simpson Reid, and was a native of North Carolina, and was serving as a member of the Georgia state senate from the Fortieth senatorial district at the time of his death in 1864. Simpson Reid was a lawyer by profession, the principal field of his practice being the old Blue Ridge circuit.

EVERARD HAMILTON RICHARDSON was born in Cedar Valley, in what is now Polk county, Ga., upon the plantation of his father, Dr. E. H. Richardson, Sr., a few miles from the village of Cedartown, Jan. 16, 1850. He is the product of widely dissimilar strains of blood. His paternal ancestors were cavaliers and his maternal stock were Puritans. It has often been remarked that this blended blood of the sturdy, uncompromising Puritan, and of the gallant, aggressive, warm- hearted cavalier, has produced a stock of men in America in whom all the elements of manhood are well mixed. The Puritan and the cavalier were both English, with

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all of English purpose in each type; but they were representatives of views that for centuries had disturbed the public peace. In the settlement of America the north half, with Massachusetts as the center, was peopled mainly by Puritans, and the south half, with Virginia as its center, was occupied by cavaliers. But in the long run of the years these have so co-mingled throughout the Union as to produce the energetic, determined and gallant class of American citizens to which the Richardsons belong. His paternal great-grandfather, Daniel Richardson, came from England, settled in Virginia, served as a lieutenant in the revolutionary war three years under Washington, and received a large tract of land from the United States government for services in the war. He married Fanny Long, who had seven brothers in the revolutionary war, most of whom were officers of distinction. His grandfather, Armistead Richardson, was born near Raccoon ford on the Rapi- dan river, Culpeper county, Va., in the year 1788. In the early portion of the nineteenth century he moved from Virginia to Georgia, settling at Eatonton, Put- man Co., where he owned a farm, living in Eatonton, and marrying Elizabeth Griggs. Being more than six feet in height, a born commander of men, and of strong mentality, he was a conspicuous figure in any presence. He was a major in the Indian war of 1813, under Gens. Floyd and Andrew Jackson. In 1834 he

removed to Cave Springs, Ga. During his entire life he was a prominent and conspicuous member of the Baptist church. Notwithstanding he was more than seventy-five years old, he held a commission of colonel of state troops under Gov. Brown during the four years of war between the states. He was a knightly char- acter, and possessed in a very eminent degree the martial and independent spirit of cavalier ancestry. From his loins sprang many eminent families in Georgia. Among them are the Hamiltons, Harpers, and Wrights, of Rome, Ga. Dr. E. H. Richardson, Sr., the second son of Armistead and Elizabeth Richardson and father of Everard H. Richardson, Jr., was born in Eatonton, Ga., 1814. In 1834 he was a private student of medicine in the office of the distinguished Dr. N. Chapman ot Philadelphia, professor in the university of Pennsylvania. Graduating there he returned to Georgia, beginning the practice of medicine in Crawfordville, Ga., in 1835, thus starting his professional life at the same time and at the same place with his warm personal friend, Alexander H. Stephens. On April 6, 1837, E. H. Richardson, Sr., was married at Penfield, Ga., to Mary A. Frances Janes, daughter of William and Silah Janes. The product of this union was nine children: Jane Thomas, Lavinia, Rosaline, Absalom Janes, Susan, Everard H., William Janes, Mary Silah, and Armistead Richardson. The last mentioned, Armistead Richard- son, is a prominent lawyer of north Georgia. For four years he was solicitor- general of Tallapoosa circuit, and his ability and zeal in the fearless discharge of the functions of his office made him a terror to malefactors against the law. He has been mayor of and attorney for the town of Cedartown. He is a man of affairs. He is a democrat, but politics are thoroughly distasteful to him. His lofty integrity of character, his loyal devotion to truth and the right, his uncompro- mising hostility to shams and frauds and dishonesty in high places, have made him a tower of strength in his community. Brave, true and chivalric by nature, the crowning glory of his character known by all men is that he is unimpeachable. Mary Frances Janes was the daughter of William and Silah Janes, of Greene county, Ga., and the mother of E. H. Richardson, Jr., was born and reared in luxury's lap. The youngest child of wealthy parents, she was the indulged and idolized pet of the home circle. Endowed with a brilliant mind, beautiful in person, sweet and gentle in spirit and soul, she was the impersonation of those virtues and charms that made the ante-bellum southern woman the grandest type of woman that any civilization in the world's history has ever produced. Her beautiful life was the inspiration

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of her children. Her lofty conception of the Christian religion and her Spartan- like devotion to the Christ she adored, led her gently and sweetly through the sun- set of life, and triumphantly her faith bore her through the valley and shadow of death to heaven's portal, into a blissful immortality beyond the stars. William Janes, her father, was born in Virginia. His ancestors, however, settled in 1637 in Connecticut, coming originally from Normandy with William the Conqueror. In the beginning of the present century William Janes moved from Virginia and settled in Wilkes county, Ga. He was a shrewd financier, and in his day was one of the wealthiest men in Georgia and a pillar in the Baptist church. He reared twelve children, educating his boys at the state university (then Franklin college), and his girls at Augusta, Ga. He left a large fortune to each of his children. In 1839 E. H. Richardson, Sr., and his young wife purchased a large tract of land in the fertile Cedar valley, in what is now Polk county, Ga. For some years after Dr. E. H. Richardson, Sr., practiced his profession there, at the same time conduct- ing his large planting interests. Owning a large number of slaves, he gradually ceased the practice of medicine, and lived a life of elegant ease, educating his children and exercising general supervision of his estate. He was always fearless and outspoken in his convictions, priding himself in being void of policy and freedom from hypocrisy. The subject of this sketch, Everard H. Richardson, received a common school education from the schools of Cedartown and Cave Springs, Ga. In 1869 he began the study of medicine, attending his first course of lectures at the medical department of the University of Louisiana, at New Orleans, 1870-71. In March, 1872, he was graduated at the medical department, University of Georgia, at Augusta, Ga. He entered upon the practice of medicine at Cedartown, Ga., practicing there five years. Young, ardent and ambitious, by this time he had paid, being necessitated by the vicissitudes of war and the conse- quent wrecking of his father's fortune, from his earnings for his medical education, and he accumulated a sufficiency to spend five months in New York city, taking a post-graduate course in the further preparation for his life's work. There he took private courses under Darby, Bryant, Loomis, and Austin Flint, Sr. Return- ing to Cedartown, he resumed his practice, accumulating property and constantly

enlarging his field for usefulness. During the succeeding years, till 1889, he worked assiduously and constantly in his profession, without a break for recreation, except occasional trips to New York and Philadelphia, to go to medical fountains to acquire fresh knowledge in his profession. In 1878, Dr. E. H. Richardson married the daughter of Dr. E. C. Jones, of Madison, Ga., who is a lady of rare loveliness of character, cultivation and attainments. Three children have come from this union-Everard Dugas, Marion Sims, and Florine E. Richardson. In 1889, Dr. Richardson had accumulated, by long toil, a comfortable competency, and had arrived at the top of his profession in his section. His clientele extended as far as Broken Arrow, in Alabama, and Chattanooga, in Tennessee, and to Rome, Ga. At this time Dr. Richardson decided to enlarge his stock of medical lore by an extended sojourn in Europe. Beginning his studies in Vienna, he remained there several months, attending the great clinics of Billroth, Albert Dittol and Kapoosa, after leaving Vienna, going to Paris and studying under such teachers and distinguished savants as Guion, Charcot, Pdean, Apostolli, Rene Appert and Tarmier. His longest stay was in London, where he was a member of Guy's hos- pital club for the year 1890, and was an interne of Guy's hospital, enjoying the matchless advantages from the greatest English teachers of this century. There he enjoyed the friendship and kindly interest of Mr. Jacobson. Mr. House, Davies Colley, Mr. Lane-Golding Bird and Clement Lucas. During the year 1890 he at- tended the British Medical association at Birmingham, England, and visited that

Frank, Or Rice

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great seat of learning, Edinburgh. Before returning to America, he traveled extensively in Europe, going to Lyons, Marseilles, Cannes and Nice, in France; Monte Carlo, in Monaco; Mentone, San Reno, Genoa, and Romne, in Italy-going as far south on the Mediterranean coast as Naples and Pompeii, and Venice, on the Adriatic. Returning to America, and, determining to still further enlarge his field of work, and to give his children superior advantages, he purchased a home in the capital city of his native state and settled at Atlanta, Ga. Here, devoting himself to the general practice of medicine, he has built up an extensive clientele, being called frequently to the adjoining states of Tennessee and Alabama. An indefatigable student, he has kept fully abreast with all the real advances in the science and art of medicine; but, possessing a level head and sound judgment, he has never been one to ardently embrace every new fancy and fad that would-be promoters in the ranks of the medical profession are constantly seeking to foist upon the credulous and unwary. Dr. Richardson expresses himself as having no other ambition than to have the privilege of working in his chosen profession and equipping his children for the battle of life. He is a member of the American Medical association, the Medical Association of Georgia, where he has served as vice-president, orator and censor; the Atlanta Society of Medicine, and the Capital City club, of Atlanta, Ga. Dr. Richardson has always voted with the democratic party, but being independent in spirit and thought, he has never endorsed unqualifiedly the dogmas of any political party. Dr. Richardson is widely known in the journalistic branch of his profession, the following being a partial list of some of his contributions to current medical literature: "Congenital Pheniosis, Producing Paralysis of Motion and Dementia, Operation and Per- manent Relief." "Radical Surgery, the Best Surgery in the Treatment of Ex- tensive, Lacerated and Contused Wounds of the Extremities." "Treatment of Hydrocele by Injection of Carbolic Acid." "Removal of Portion of Cranium Resulting from Traumatism of Long Standing." "When Should We Interfere in Threatened Puerperal Convulsions?" "Treatment of Compound Communated Fracture with Plaster of Paris." "Continued Fever Occurring in This Climate." "Cholera Infantum." "The Medical Side of Appendicitis." "Report of a Case of Atresia of Cervix Uteri, Produced by Nitric Acid, Relieved by Bilateral Division of Cervix." Dr. Richardson ranks high in the medical profession, and as a physician and a man of affairs, his views and opinions have always challenged respect. He has never sought office. He was director in the C. R. & C. R. R., surgeon for the same, and of the E. & W. R. R. of Alabama; also, one of the directors of the Cherokee Land company, which has done so much for north Gorgia. He is now in the prime of mental and physical manhood. Ambitious, capable, learned, and skillful in his profession, inspired by hope and faith in the power of work, the future is bright with promise for him.

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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 133

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