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 161

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 161

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N., the subject of this sketch; Joseph F., planter, Taliaferro county; James A. C., planter, Putnam county; Mary and Martha, who were twins, the latter de- ceased and the former Mrs. John Andrews, of Butts county; Margaret E., (Mrs. Fred S. Stewart, of Atlanta, deceased). The mother died in 1878 at the age of eighty years, and the father in the same year, aged seventy-eight. He was a farmer by occupation, a Baptist in faith and an old-time democrat. He was an old veteran, having been a soldier in the war of 1812. William N. Nelson was reared to manhood in Greene county. Acquiring a common school education, he began teaching school in 1845, and taught without interruption until 1875 in the counties of Greene, Hancock, Butts, Spalding and Henry. After being a teacher for thirty years he decided to change his occupation to that of farming, which he carried on successfully until 1886, when he was elected county ordinary. Being exempted from the regular service during the late war on account of his occupation, he yet found time and inclination to do something for the cause, and in 1864 became one of Joe Brown's "pets." He married in Butts county, Oct. 31, 1847, Miss Martha, daughter of Thomas and Nancy McGough, and became the father of the following children: Laura A., Mrs. G. D. Brown, Henry county; Emma C., Mrs. McN. Moore, deceased; Cora, unmarried; Mattie Lenora, Mrs. O. S. Moore, Morton, Miss .; Ida, Mrs. J. F. M. Fields, Greenwood, Ga .; Geneva, Mrs. McN. Moore, Morton, Miss .; William D., McDonough, clerk in his father's office, and Mary Clyde, unmarried. For many years a member of the Baptist church, and a most successful teacher in the schools of the county where he lives, he has well-earned the high regard in which he is held by former pupils and friends. Twice he has been elected to public office, first as school commissioner and then to the office of ordinary, which he now holds, and for which important position a better or more competent man could not have been chosen. In politics a democrat of the old school, he has lived to see many changes in his state and national government.

Q. R. NOLAN. Twenty-eight miles southeast of Atlanta stands the town of McDonough, in Henry county, a name around which cluster memories of "ye olden time," when Atlanta was a waste place, and the pioneer and Indian roamed the woods together. It is the county seat of Henry county, one of the originals, and which has given birth to Fulton and several other lusty children which have long since distanced their progenitor in population and importance. With the advance of civilization old Henry county has lost many of her first fam- ilies and yet there still remains much of the sturdy stock which made the county famous. Among the leading families of the present town of McDonough is the one whose name heads this sketch, and which has occupied an enviable position in the county for the past fifty years. Quinces R. Nolan, the deceased head of the family, was born in Morgan county, Ga., on Nov. 18, 1824, and died at Mc- Donough Jan. 1, 1876. He was the son of Thomas Nolan and Miss Martha (Browder) Thrasher, and was reared on a plantation in the county of his birth. His literary education was obtained at Emory and Henry college, Va. Subse- quently attending Yale college, he graduated in the law department in the same class with the late lamented Joseph E. Brown, between whom and Col. Nolan there existed a lifelong and intimate friendship. Soon after his return to Georgia Mr. Nolan located for the practice of his chosen profession in Mc- Donough, then the most flourishing town in that part of the state, and where he continued an active member of the bar until his death. He soon established a fine reputation as a lawyer, being especially strong in administrative law, of which he was a thorough master. Mr. Nolan was an efficient public officer of Henry

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county for some fifteen years, having been elected ordinary in 1853, and retiring on account of ill health in 1868. In disposition he was quiet and unassuming, of fine personal habits, fond of his books and fireside, and never was happier than when in the bosom of his family. In politics he was an ardent whig, in faith a consistent Methodist, and was a Mason of royal arch degree, and a member of the fraternity of Odd Fellows. Mr. Nolan married the lady who still survives him, Miss Antoinette C. Campbell, at McDonough, on Jan. 28, 1849. She was the daughter of Col. James H. Campbell and Permelia D. Lane. Col. Campbell was an ardent whig, a zealous Christian in the Methodist church, a royal arch Mason and was made brigadier-general just previous to his last illness. He was reared in Morgan county, but resided in Butts county, where he died in June, 1844. Mrs. Nolan's grandfather, George Campbell, was one of the revolutionary heroes, having served five years and nine months in that immortal struggle for independ- ence. He was from Mecklenburg, N. C., and had settled in Morgan county in the colonial period. He was a Presbyterian of the old blue stocking variety, unbending in his integrity, and unswerving in his devotion to his church, which he served faithfully for sixty-five years as an elder. His abstemious habits, never having used liquor or tobacco in any form, contributed to the prolongation of his useful life, the advanced age of eighty-eight years having been reached before he laid down the cross. To this marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Nolan were born four sons: Thomas C., William M., Edgar Q., and John Q. Of these William M. and Edgar Q. died before maturity. Thomas C., the eldest, died at the age of forty- three. He was educated at Emory and Henry college, Virginia, and was a lawyer, having been a number of years before his demise in the employ of the E. T., Va. & Ga. R. R. In this branch of the law he had few equals and was rapidly rising to the very top of the profession. He left a wife (nee Annie M. Lemmon) and three children: Elizabeth, Annie and Quinces R. J. Q., the only living child, was educated at Emory college, Oxford, Ga., where he graduated in 1874. For years he was the worthy representative of the E. T. Va. & Ga. R. R. at McDonough, but is now giving his attention to the cultivation of the Nolan estate. He married Miss Fannie Cochran, a talented and accomplished lady of Barnesville, Ga. Frank M., a bright lad of ten years, is their only son, and bids fair to realize the high standard of excellence attained by former members of the family, which has ever been noted for its oratorical gifts, its poetical genius and literary culture, having furnished from its ranks ministers, editors, orators, scholars and military heroes.

DANIEL W. SCOTT, the leading physician and surgeon of McDonough, Henry Co., Ga., is the eldest of a family of nine children of James and Mary (Thrasher) Scott, and was born in Newton county, Ga., Dec. 15, 1849. The family is of Scotch-Irish descent, dating their first connection with American in- stitutions back to the days when old Virginia was a state unborn. The great- grandfather of Dr. Scott was named William, and in South Carolina married Jane Thomas, moved to Jasper county, Ga., in the early part of the century, is men- tioned by White as one of the earliest and most prominent 'settlers of the county. After remaining here a number of years he removed to Monroe county, where . he reared his family and died. He lies buried at Rogers' church. His wife died at a son's home near Talbotton, Ga., and was buried three miles west of that place. William and Jane Scott were the parents of twelve children, the doctor's grand- father being the second child. This gentleman married Jemima Walker, and passed his married existence in Newton county. He reared five sons and two daughters, all now deceased. Dr. Scott's father was the third son, and became a thrifty and prosperous planter of Newton county, where he

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passed his life. He was a man of retired disposition and habits, of fine moral character, a Baptist in faith and a democrat in politics. He died in 1883. The widow still lives on the old homestead and is the mother of the following children: Dr. Daniel W .; D. Barton, suffered death by a falling tree in 1880; Ophelia J., died unmarried, Aug. 20, 1894; Emma J., Mrs. Green Hull, Conyers, Ga .; James A., planter, Newton county; Lula, Mrs. D. C. Camp, Atlanta; William A., planter, Rockdale county; Mamie H., and Walter Lee, young people at home. Dr. Scott was educated at that superior school-the Conyers academy, and at the Atlanta Medical college, where he was graduated in March, 1875. Entered on the practice of his profession near Shady Dale, Jasper Co., whence, after two years, he removed to Peachstone Shoals, Henry Co. In 1882 he came to McDonough, where he now enjoys a large and constantly growing practice. Dr. Scott has few equals in the sick chamber. As a Christian gentleman of broad views and liberal spirit, he merits the patronage and respect of his numerous constituency. He is a Baptist in religious belief, and a democrat in politics, though he eschews the latter as much as possible. On Dec. II, 1878, Dr. Scott was joined in wedlock to Miss Laura E. Sharp. This lady has the proud dis- tinction of being able to trace her ancestry from the Mayflower, her paternal grandmother having been a Morton, well-known as one of the original Puritan families. She is a daughter of Henry T. and Caroline (Dulin) Sharp, and was born and reared in Newton county. To Dr. and Mrs. Scott have been born two bright and interesting children: Adiel Roscoe and Leila Bay.

CHARLES THORNTON ZACHRY. This is the name of a family whose members, though not numerous, have always been men and women of the highest character and noble impulses. Its introduction into America from Scot- land was attended with circumstances of extreme hardship. The Zachry who landed in Maryland with a Rucker and a Smith, being the only three persons saved from their wrecked vessel. From this gentleman has sprung the American con- tingent of the family. Little is known of the early movements of the family, save that they were prominent agriculturists and intermarried with some of the best families of the colonies. It is recorded that a John Zachry, of South Carolina, married Mary Hay, a daughter of the famous Daniel Hay, who was killed while in Washington's service. From Maryland to the Carolinas, the name appeared from thence in Georgia after the revolutionary war, where Daniel Zachry, after a residence of uncertain period in Warren county, settled in Putnam county, where he reared a large and prosperous family. James B., one of the sons, after marry- ing Miss Olive Morton, removed to Newton county, where he spent the remainder of his life as a planter, dying at the age of seventy-two years. His wife outlived him four years, dying in 1876. They were the parents of twelve children: Thomas H., died while in the Mexican war; William, deceased; Daniel H., Jefferson, Texas; Col. C. T .; Mary L., deceased; John M., Atlanta; Alfred H., Bartow, Fla .; H. D., El Paso, Texas; L. H., also in Texas; Lucy, Mrs. W. G. Turner, Henry county ; Carrie, deceased, and James B., Jr., deceased. Col. C. T. Zachry is the fourth son, and is the most prominent member of the family in his day. He was born in Newton county, Feb. 4, 1828, and in 1853 settled in Henry county, where he has since been a prominent and leading planter. Col. Zachry has been twice married. In 1852 he married Miss Frances .A. Turner, who bore him two children, and died in the fall of 1861. James Greer, the son, is a prominent lawyer and capitalist of New York city, and the daughter, Nancy A., married C. W. McCally, of Atlanta, and died in 1892. The second marriage occurred in 1865, to Miss Elizabeth J. Russell, who still survives, the mother of four

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children: Glancey, who married T. P. Thompson, and is now a widow, living with her father; Clifford and Elizabeth T., accomplished unmarried daughters, and Mary V., Mrs. R. L. Howell, Sanford, Fla. Col. Zachry is a man of earnest con- victions on all subjects, and has taken a leading part in politics during his lifetime. His democracy is unquestioned, yet having been reared a whig, it is of that conservative type which stands rather on principle than party. He has aided his party in the deliberations of many conventions, and has been called upon to bear its standard in several hard-fought contests. His first public service was as a dele- gate in the convention of 1865, where he voted cheerfully to return to the old Union, having deprecated leaving it in 1861. He served his county in the lower house during the sessions of 1880-81-82-83, where he did excellent service for the bill establishing the technological school and for educational questions in general. In 1890 he was honored with the senatorship of the thirty-fourth senatorial district, and served in the sessions of that and the following year. As chairman of the agricultural committee he introduced a bill, which passed with but few unim- portant changes, settling what is known as the betterment question. Col. Zachry's title is not of the variety too common in states since the war, but was won by actual service on the battlefield. Although opposed to war in principle, he yielded to the inevitable and aided in raising a company for the maintenance of the position taken by his native state, of which he was elected captain. In the organization it was known as Company H, Twenty-seventh Georgia regiment, and did valiant service at Yorktown, Williamsburg, the seven days' fight around Richmond, second Manassas, Sharpsburg, and in many other of the most sanguinary battles of the war, some forty-five engagements in all. O11 the first organization of the regiment Col. Zachry was elected major, in which position he served till after the battle of Manassas, when he was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy. For gallant conduct on the bloody field of Sharpsburg he won his present title, which he held with honor till the close of the war. He was wounded four different times : at first, Cold Harbor; the Wilderness and Chancellorsville, slightly, and seriously at Sharpsburg, while leading his regiment in a bayonet charge on the Yankee left. It was at the battle of Olustee, in Florida, however, that Col. Zachry won his chief distinction, for when history is correctly written it will chronicle the fact that he was the real hero of that important and successful rout of the Federals. His scouts were the first to learn the close proximity of the enemy. Immediately informing Gen. Finnegan, troops were hurried to the front and a line of battle formed. These troops were for the most part raw recruits, who gave way at the first charge. Col. Zachry had been ordered to the extreme left, and had moved promptly to position, only to find that he was too far from the scene of action. Moving to the right he arrived just in time to witness the retirement of the provincials, who it is due to remark, might have behaved more creditably had they been furnished sufficiently with ammunition. Rallying them behind his battle-scarred veterans, he faced the advancing enemy and soon turned defeat into victory, driving the enemy ingloriously from the field. Col. Zachry accomplished this without the assistance or the orders of his superiors, all of which can be substantiated by undoubted testimony. The colonel has always modestly declined publication of these facts, but history is history only when correctly written, and they are given the prominence merited from having been so long buried. Col. Zachry is a Methodist in faith and a Mason. He is spending the closing years of his life in the cultivation of his large plantation, which lies ten miles northeast of Mc- Donough, in Henry county. Col. Zachry was one among the first men in Georgia whose influence was used to establish the law known as the stock law, which has proven to be of such incalculable value to the farmers of the state of Georgia.

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Its origin existed at the Livingston Agricultural club, in Newton county, of which Col. Zachry was a member, and was one of a committee of five appointed to investigate and report upon its practicability. By that committee he (Col. Zachry) was appointed a committee of one to visit a local section in Alabama, where the stock law had been in operation for a number of years, and report upon its utility. Henry was one of the first three counties in the state to adopt it.

HOUSTON COUNTY.

JOHN GREEN BROWN is the son of Dempsey Brown, who was a native of North Carolina. His grandfather, Samuel Brown, was of Scotch-Irish descent. He reared a family of four sons and two daughters, all of whom are deceased. Dempsey Brown, the third of these sons was born in 1801. When a young man he removed to Georgia and settled in Twiggs county. He began with small capital, but by energy and perseverance he soon attained success. His education was rather limited, though he was a natural mathematician, and con- sidered one of the best of his day. In moral rectitude he was upright to sternness, and lived a life singularly free from guile of any kind. He married Miss Nancy Green and reared the following children: Mrs. Joseph Wimberly, Mrs. Dr. Bryant, Mrs. Felder, Mrs. Dr. Frank Walker, Mrs. B. M. Wyble of Americus, Ga., Mrs. J. R. Wimberly of Arkansas, Ho11. Clay Brown of Griffin, Ga., and John Green Brown, the subject of this sketch, who was born in Twiggs county, Ga., Sept. 14, 1831. He was reared in Houston county, his parents moving to that county when he was only one year old. He received an excellent education, having been a student at La Grange, Ga., for several years. In 1854, Miss Smitha Tooke of Houston county became his wife. She became mother of two children: Glenmore Brown and Mrs. R. O. Pate of Hawkinsville, Ga. The mother died when quite a young woman. In February, 1871, Mr. Brown married Miss Cora Rutherford, and to them were born seven children, six of whom are living: Mrs. Luciny Polhill, John Green, Jr., Rutherford, Eugene, Dempsey and Mary, all of whom reside at home. In 1862 he enlisted in the Fifth Georgia regiment, Thomas' brigade, Hill's division, W. R. Davis being captain. After the first year he was transferred to the western army and remained there during the entire war. From the ranks he was promoted to lieutenant and finally to captain, in which position he gallantly led his company through many engagements. Mr. Brown is at present engaged in farming and merchandising-has a fine store and a farming interest which requires his entire attention. As a citizen of Houston, no man stands higher in the estimation of hier people than John G. Brown.

I. F. CATER, a merchant of Perry, Ga., is the son of Thomas Johnson Cater, who was a native of South Carolina, and was born at Barnwell about the year 1825. While he was yet a boy the family moved to Georgia and located near Augusta on a plantation. When but fourteen years of age, he was employed as a clerk by Fort, Hamilton & Co., cotton merchants of Macon. Here he remained four years, when he formed a partnership with Edward Bowdrey, and they became engaged in the mercantile business in Macon. He continued in business ten years, meeting with the greatest success, financially. At this time, on account of impaired health, he removed to Houston county, and, after a residence there of I-69

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three years, returned to Macon. During the war he again removed to Houston county, where he passed the remainder of his life. In 1867 he established the business now conducted by his son, L. F. Cater. His wife was Amelia Wimberly, of Jones county, and she became the mother of thirteen children, of whom there are living Catherine (Oliver), Alabama; F. S., merchant, of Macon; J. J., Forsyth; Ida A. (Rogers); Florence N. (Howard); Robert L., M. D., and L. F., merchant, all of Perry. The mother died in 1883, and the father survived her but a few years. A kind Christian gentleman, an active member of the M. E. church, and the leader in the county of the prohibition movement, he deserved the respect accorded him. Although a most thorough democrat, he was not an aspirant for political honors. Lewis Franklin Cater was born in Houston county Jan. 24, 1863. He has had the best of educational advantages, having attended the A. & M. college, of Auburn, Ala., and Emory college, of Oxford, Ga., and the business college of Poughkeepsie, N. Y. After his graduation he entered the store of his father, which he has since conducted, and of which he is now the proprietor. In August of 1889 he was united in marriage to Miss Helen Parks, a daughter of Wiley S. Parks, of Dawson, Ga. To this marriage have been born two children-Frank and Helen, the former deceased. Mr. Cater, like his father, is a stanch democrat. Following the custom of many merchants in country towns, Mr. Cater cultivates a plantation of some 1,200 acres. He is an active worker in the M. E. church, of which he is a steward, and as a business man and citizen, is most highly respected.

JOHN A. COFFEE, planter. Early in the history of America two brothers, surnamed Coffee, emigrated to this country from Ireland, and from them are descended the large family of that name. Tradition has it that each of these brothers had one son, who became famous during the Indian wars, and rose to the military rank of general. One of these, Gen. John Coffee, was a native of Hancock county, Ga., but later of Telfair county. He was a man of prominence, and was a member of the national house of representatives at the time of his death. As an instance of the extreme slowness of the distribution of news which prevailed in that early date of Georgia's history, is the fact that John Coffee was dead and buried when his election for a second term as congressman was announced; indeed, he was dead before the ballots electing him were cast. He married Miss Connelepy Bryan, who was a native of North Carolina. They reared John, Peter, Williams, Columbus, Jackson, Bryan, Sarah, and Susan. Of these there are living Jackson, in Florida, and Sarah, who married Gen. Mark Wilcox, and now resides in Dodge county, Ga. Peter Coffee, the father of John A., was born in 1813, in Hancock county, Ga. He was, however, reared on a plantation in Telfair county, and was the recipient of a common school education. At the death of his father he was in possession of some property, though the greater portion of his wealth was in slaves. He married Miss Susan Ann Rogers, a daughter of James A., of Telfair county, who was an early settler, very prominent, and was a member of the legislature. To this union there were born John A., Joshua, Susan, Peter, Colum- bus, Sarah, Penolape, Jackson and Baily; all save Baily are living. The mother of these children died in '62, and Peter married a Miss Shelton, who, with three children resulting from this union, resides in Florida. The father was a man of fine influence in Telfair, having acted as one of the justices of the inferior court for years. He was a Methodist by profession of faith, a master Mason, and in politics was a democrat. He died in 18 -. Maj. John A. Coffee was born April 26, 1838, in Telfair county, and was there reared. When a young man he was possessed of small means, which he invested in a mercantile venture, which he con- tinued until 1861, when he enlisted in a company known as the Telfair Volunteers, and was elected second lieutenant. This company became Company H, of the

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Twentieth Georgia regiment. In July, 1861, he was mustered into service at Richmond, Va., and fought in the Virginia army. He took part in numerous engagements, such as seven-days' fight at Richmond, second Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg and Chickamauga. At Fredericksburg, he was on Lee's right flank. On the night before the battle, December 13, he was the field officer of the day, and when alarm of battle was given, was complimented by Gen. Bannings for his promptness. After the battle he was promoted to captain, and at Gettysburg was made major of the Twentieth Georgia regiment. He was wounded in this battle by a rifle ball in the right leg, and was conveyed to the hospital, from which he was paroled and sent home. After his partial recovery he served with Maj. O. A. Bacon in the capacity of supervisor of the subsistence department. In 1864 the major married Miss Rebecca S. Daniell, a daughter of James Daniell, of Hawkinsville, Ga., and to that union there were born three children-Mrs. Dr. Slippy. of Twiggs county, sketch of whom appears elsewhere; and George and Mrs. W. W. Lemon, of Hawkinsville. The mother of these died May 4, 1873. The major's second union was to Miss Nannie C. Brown, of Houston county, a daughter of Stephen and Mary C. To this union have been born Cornelia R. and Eugenie, educated at Shorter college, Rome, Ga .; John A., Jr .; Helen, and Ethel. For some years Maj. Coffee was a merchant of Hawkins- ville, but in 1876 he removed to his plantation, where he has since resided. He cultivates 1,500 acres of land, and devotes much attention to stock-raising. He is a member of the Methodist church and of the masonic fraternity.

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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 161

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