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. II > Part 101
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HAN Donough.
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on Eighth street, Philadelphia, which is still owned by the estate. The first locomotive built in Georgia, the "Native," was built by him; it was some years since consigned to the scrap pile. During the unpleasantness he sawed timber for the Confederate government. Mr. McDonough was educated in Atlanta, and remained at home until the spring of 1863. April 19 of that year he left Atlanta and started for Philadelphia, walking when he could. At Shelbyville, Tenn., himself and a young companion went to Mrs. Gen. Bragg, and pretending that they had a sick mother within the Union lines so wrought upon her womanly sympathies that she prevailed on a teamster to take them through the lines; and they went through, secreted among sacks of grain-Mrs. Bragg bestowing a parting kiss when she bade them "good-bye." He spent two days in Shelbyville, four in Franklin, one each in Nashville and Louisville, and three in Cincinnati, reaching Philadelphia on May 4. He remained in that city about two years, working where he could get employment-first in a steam bakery, then with dealers and manufacturers of lamps and chandeliers, then bonc carving and saw- ing, etc. In 1864 he left Philadelphia on a vessel for home but was shipwrecked. After being in the water five hours with the cook and a sick man, the party was rescued by the United States pilot-boat Bermuda, which conveyed them to the receiving ship Vermont, on board which they remained two weeks. The com- mander was anxious to educate him, but he declined and returned to Philadelphia, and from there he went to City Point, Va., where he engaged as a mule driver and remained until after the surrender, when he marched to Washington and was in the ranks at the last general review. He afterward went to Philadelphia, where he staid about three months, and then took steamer via Savannah to Augusta, where his father then was. He there entered a machine shop as an apprentice; and later went to Savannah and worked at his trade in connection with a man named Ballentinc under the firm name of McDonough & Ballentinc. Subsequently he went to what is now old Waycross, and engaged in saw-milling. He continued this four or five years, and then moved to the line of the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia railway. In 1873 he commenced merchandising on the Brunswick & Albany railway just below Waycross, and finally built the third store in the town and moved into it. Receiving a stroke of paralysis he closed out, and went to Hot Springs, Ark., thence to the Centennial at Phila- delphia, after which he returned home and re-engaged in saw-milling in connec- tion with general merchandising. He then for about seven years ran a locomo- tive, after which he again re-embarked in merchandising-this time at Patterson. where he conducts the leading store, and is doing a large business; also conduct- ing a hotel and livery stable and very extensive farming operations, all with the usual profitable results. He has profitably employed his leisure time in dealing in real estate. Mr. McDonough has been twice married. He was first married to Miss Catharine Meyer, Dec. 1, 1871, by whom he had two children. His sccond marriage, March 1, 1880, was to Miss Mary E., daughter of Kinchen and Helen Hilliard, of Coffee county, Ga., who has borne him five children-three sons and two daughters: Frank H., Mary E., Edward B., Ella E., George W. He is a democrat, and a member of the Missionary Baptist church.
EBENEZER STARNES M'GEE, farmer, Patterson, Pierce Co., Ga., was born in Screven county, Ga., April 16, 1849. His parents were born in North Carolina-the father on the Pedee river, near the South Carolina linc, and the mother above Wilmington. They came to Georgia and settled in Screven county, where his father served the public as blacksmith, wheelwright and buggy-builder ; and, because of his marked practical ability and judgment, became a prominent citizen, and was called to responsible positions. He was a good farmer, served
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as a justice of the inferior court, was administrator of a large number of estates; and in a quiet way, without special reading or preparation, practiced medicine and surgery. He died about the beginning of the late war, in April, 1861. Mr. McGee remained at home until he attained his majority, when he engaged as sawyer at a saw-mill, and afterward was in the employ of the Savannah, Florida & Western railway as a locomotive engineer. His family moved to Patterson in 1880, and four years later he settled there permanently, embarked in a general merchandise business in connection with a farm and grist-mill and cotton-ginnery on a large basis. He is a progressive fariner, enterprising, and stands well with the community. His farming operations are restricted mostly to food products. He has been a member of the council, and notary public, and a member of the county board. Mr. McGee was married Dec. 20, 1872, to Miss Susan Anna, daughter of Rev. John and Eliza (Aspinwall) Donaldson, by whom he has had nine children, of whom one son and four daughters survive: Minnie M., Mary E., Ida, Ivy, and John S. His wife's father was a prominent farmer; a private soldier in the Confederate army; represented the county in the general assembly; and was a revered and influential minister of the Primitive Baptist church. Mr. McGee is a stanch member of the democratic party.
JAMES EDWARD OVERSTREET, physician, Overman, Pierce Co., Ga., son of George Martin Troup and Caroline (Surrency) Overstreet, was born in Appling county, Ga., March 29, 1871. His father is a large landowner and a prominent and extensive turpentine distiller, and producer of naval stores; and conducts very large planting interests. During the late civil war he commanded a company in tlie Confederate army. Dr. Overstreet received his primary and preparatory education at the common and other schools of the county, and after studying medicine attended lectures at the Southern Medical college, Atlanta, from which he was graduated in March, 1893. He located at Overman, and has already gained a large and remunerative practice in Pierce, Wayne, and Appling counties. Few young physicians have done better for the short time he has been practicing-few have brighter prospects. Dr. Overstreet is public spirited and takes great interest in everything calculated to promote the advance- ment of the community, with which he is thoroughly identified.
DANIEL J. WALKER, merchant-farmer, Patterson, Pierce Co., Ga., son of John and Mary (Underhill) Walker, was born in Ware (now Pierce) county, May II, 1847. His father was a farmer, enlisted as a private during the war between the states, was captured in Virginia, and died while a prisoner at Elmira, N. Y. Mr. Walker was raised on the farm and received a common school educa- tion. When twenty years of age he commenced farming for himself, and still makes that his principal life-pursuit. In January, 1891, he engaged with Mr. Henry Hyers in the mercantile business, whom he bought out in 1894, and now conducts his store, in connection with a fine 60-acre farm, managing all with tact, good judgment and success, and is regarded as one of the leading farmers of the community. He has been a road commissioner, a school trustee, and a member of the board of education, and is now an alderman of the town. Mr. Walker was married Oct. 4, 1866, to Miss Ollie, daughter of John R. and Evaline (Hyers) Davis, of Pierce county, by whom he has had eleven children-six sons and five daughters-all of whom, except three, are at home: Lawton, Omar W., Eva S., John R., Mary E., Mittie L., Daniel R., James E., Marie G., Freddie L., and Anna E. He is a firm and consistent democrat, but not a politician.
E. S . M . Su
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PIKE COUNTY.
COL. J. H. BAKER, of Zebulon, was born in Warren county, Ga., Aug. 7, 1824, and is the son of Jonathan and Nancy (Wynn) Baker. Jonathan Baker was a member of the state legislature from 1830 to 1836, and was colonel in the state militia up to 1836. Col. J. H. Baker was educated in Pike county and has devoted his life to farming, now residing on his plantation three miles north- west of Zebulon. Col. Baker did good service in the Mexican war, enlisting with Capt. Sargent, Company I, First regiment of Georgia volunteers, commanded by Col. Henry R. Jackson, of Savannah. At the breaking out of the civil war Col. Baker was one of the first to offer his services and helped organize the first company that was sent to the war from Pike county. He was elected captain of the company, Company A, Thirteenth Georgia volunteer regiment. He entered the service July 8, 1861, and received promotion to major, then lieutenant-colonel, and was afterward made colonel of the regiment in 1863. He was a brave officer and loved by his command. He was in many engagements, the most severe of all being the battle of the Wilderness, or the seven days' fight before Richmond. He was wounded six times during the war and severely wounded the last day of the fight before Petersburg. He was captured at Gettysburg and was carried to Johnson's island after being in close confinement for two weeks at Fort Delaware. He was exhanged in 1864 and joined his command the same month, May 12. Since the war Col. Baker has been actively engaged in farming. He was elected to the legislature in 1870 and was chairman of the committee on military. He was elected to the senate in 1880. He is a member of the Baptist church, and was married Jan. 29, 1848, to Miss Louisa A. Trice, daughter of Rev. T. C. Trice, by whom he has nine children: Martha V., Jonathan T., Wm. H., Edgar E., Laura, Fannie, J. Davis, Maud and Lillie. The two youngest are living in At- lanta, one, Wm. H., in Griffin and the others are residents of this county.
DR. J. C. BEAUCHAMP. Prominent in state and county politics and skilled in the science of medicine and surgery, is Dr. J. C. Beauchamp, of William- son, Pike county. He was born in Troup county, Ga., Oct. 23, 1851, and is the son of W. W. and Sarah E. (Davis) Beauchamp, the father being a well-known citizen and farmer, and for years was justice of the peace. Dr. J. C. Beauchamp was educated in the common schools of Meriwether county and came to Pike county in 1861. He was a prominent teacher in the county for many years and then was graduated from the Southern Medical college, Atlanta, winning the gold medal in clinical and operative surgery in a class of thirty-seven. The doctor is active in politics, being an influential democrat; has been chairman of the demo- cratic county committee, and represented the county in the general assembly in 1883-84. In the latter capacity he exhibited excellent qualifications for a law- maker and did valuable work on several important committees. Dr. Beauchamp is an enthusiast in the cause of education, and believes in liberal provision for the intellectual training of the country's youth. His zeal led the people of his county to elect him to the board of education of his county, of which he is now president. Dr. Beauchamp was too young to enter the Confederate service, yet when the Vet- erans' association of Pike county was organized his well-known sentiments of honor and reverence for those who wore the gray caused him to be placed on the committee on history. He is also interested in mercantile business in Williamson,
II-44
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which he has conducted with good business judgment. He is a member of the Methodist church and is one of Williamson's citizens who is respected by every -- body. Dr. Beauchamp was married in 1871 to Ella Gregg, of Pike county, by whom he had seven children: Myntie, Choghan, Eula, Walter, Rosa, Ruby and Paul. The oldest two daughters are graduates of the La Grange Female college and are now teachers in the Williamson high school.
REV. J. W. BECK. One of the most distinguished educators in the state and a learned and brilliant gentleman, is the Rev. James W. Beck, of Concord, Pike Co., Ga. He was born in Wilkes county, Ga., Oct. 23, 1831, and is the son of Rev. T. J. Beck, a native of Ashland, N. C., and one of the most noted Baptist ministers in the south. Rev. T. J. Beck was born in 1805, and deprived of the advantages of an early education, succeeded by indefatigable efforts in surmount- ing all obstacles and preparing his talented mind for a work which has not been surpassed in the history of the church. He preached his last sermon at Richmond, Va., in 1862, and died that year. Rev. J. W. Beck, who in his youth accom- panied his father when on the round of his ministerial duties, was educated up and down the valleys of Georgia, and attended Mercer university in 1857-8-9. His life has been identified with the cause of education and devoted to the service of the church. He was president of the Bowdon college from 1878 to 1883, and president of Jackson, Butts Co., Ga., institute from 1884 to 1890. He entered the service of the Confederacy at the opening of the war, enlisting in Company B, Second regiment, Georgia volunteers, as a private soldier. He was afterward elected captain of Company K, Forty-fourth Georgia regiment, and was made major of the regiment for meritorious service on the field. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel for bravery at the battle of Gettysburg. He then commanded the Forty-fourth Georgia regiment till the end of the war, and was in all the battles around Richmond, at Fredericksburg with the Second Army corps and at Chancellorsville with Jackson. He with 400 men, having 360 muskets, marched 5,641 Union prisoners taken at the battle of Chancellorsville, to Richmond, Va., in one week. Rev. Beck is a royal arch Mason and for three years was state lecturer for the Farmers' alliance. He was married in 1853 to Margaret Willis, of Meriwether county, by whom he has three children: Marcus W., the present judge of the Flint circuit court; Lenore Beck, president of the Capital Female college at Atlanta and also president of the Woman's Press asso- ciation of Georgia, and Walter L., business manager of the Griffin Wheel com- pany, of Chicago. All are graduates of colleges and bright in mental accom- plishments.
THOMAS J. BLASINGAME, ordinary of Pike county, was born in Monroe county, April 5, 1840, and is the son of Wyatt and Susan (Adams) Blasingame, both natives of South Carolina. Thomas J. came with his parents to Upson county in 1852, and his father lived to the remarkable age of ninety years. The son was educated in the private schools and began teaching school in Talbot county in 1860, and taught in Pike county in 1861. In October, 1861, he entered the Confederate service and served until the war closed in 1865, during which time he lost an arm. From 1867 till 1873 he was a teacher in the public schools of Pike county. . In 1873 he was elected ordinary to fill the unexpired term of Robert S. Eppenger, and was elected for the succeeding full term. In 1885-86 he was receiver of tax returns. In July, 1889, he was elected clerk of the superior court to fill the unexpired term of D. C. Hightower, and was elected for two con- secutive terms, serving till January, 1895. In January, 1895, he was again elected
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ordinary of Pike county to fill the unexpired term of Rev. Harry Wells. Mr. Blasingame was married Aug. 28, 1864, to Miss Celia Ann Adams, by whom he has five children, the eldest, James C. Blasingame, being president of the Jackson institute at Jackson, Ga. The other children are Jessie M., Sallie, Thomas R. and Dudley. Mr. Blasingame is a member of the Missionary Baptist church and belongs to the fraternal order of Knights of Honor. He is one of the most pop- ular citizens of Pike county.
JOHN N. BROOKS, of Molena, was born in Monroe county in June, 1844, and is the son of Ivy and Harriet Brooks. Mr. Ivy Brooks was a native of South Carolina and a relative of Preston S. Brooks, the Palmetto state's eminent states- man. The elder Brooks died in 1854, and the son of John N. received his educa- tion at Bowdon and Mercer colleges; the former located in Carroll county and the latter then located at Pennfield. He devoted his time to teaching until 1887, since when he has been railroad agent at Molena and a farmer of extensive lands near the town. He is a member of and deacon in the Baptist church, and has been superintendent of the Sabbath school for a number of years. He is a Mason and belongs to Zebulon lodge No. 13. He was married in 1868 to Rosa L. Park, and after her death was again married to Ella F. Willis, daughter of Rev. C. C. Willis, of Muscogee county, one of the oldest Baptist ministers in the state, and who was pastor of one church for fifty-two years. By Mr. Brooks' first marriage the following children were born: W. P., Jessie L., Rosa Belle, Hattie and Annie. The second set of children are: Mattie May and John Willis. Mr. W. P. Brooks is married and is railroad agent at Helena, Ga. Jessie L. is the wife of R. S. Fuller and lives at Shiloh, Harris Co.
ZACH. LAWRENCE, farmer, Molena, Pike Co., Ga., son of James H. and Amelia (Smith) Lawrence, was born in Upson county, Ga., in 1854. His grandparents on his father's side, Zachariah and Frances (Wicker) Lawrence, were North Carolinians, and came to Georgia and settled in Pike county about the time it was organized. He was a colonel of volunteers in the Mexican war. His father was born in Pike county, is a large and prosperous farmer, was in the army during the war between the states, and is now the popular postmaster at Molena. His mother was a daughter of Elam and Sarah (Stevens) Smith, whose family was among the early settlers of Sumter county. Mr. Lawrence was reared and worked on a farm. He began life for himself with nothing, but has worked, and with success, for pecuniary independence. In 1877 he was united by marriage with Miss Ellen Hardy, born in Upson county in 1860, daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Chappel) Hardy. Mr. Hardy was a native of Upson county, enlisted in the Confederate army, and was killed during the war. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence has been blessed with six children, all living: Jeppie, Daisy, Clara, Carrie, Zach., Jesse A. Mrs. Lawrence is a member of the Baptist church. Mr. Lawrence is an ardent democrat and a much-esteemed citizen.
J. J. LEE, farmer, Concord, Pike Co., was born in Monroe county, Ga., in March. 1827. His parents were Bryan and Sarah (Davis) Lee, who were devout Christian people and members of the Baptist church. Bryan Lee was an old resident of Monroe county, and died in 1880, aged ninety-three years. Mr. J. J. Lee received his schooling in the old log school house of half a century ago, and adopted farming as his life occupation. For several years he was engaged in the mercantile business, but now resides on his farm, where in the closing days of his well-spent life he finds ease and contentment in the company of his loving family. Mr. Lee is an unassuming old gentleman who can look back upon a long career
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without a pang of regret or a tremor in his conscience. Of a sunny disposition, a kind and sympathetic heart, liberal in purse, and of a broad and considerate mind, he has the love of everyone, and if he has an enemy in the world nobody knows it. Mr. Lee has been a member of the Baptist church for more than forty years, and is, by a noble example as well as by theory, a strict temperance man. Mr. Lee was married Jan. 3, 1850, to Elizabeth Mcclendon, by whom he had two children, J. H. and J. B. Lee. She also was a faithful member of the Baptist church. Mr. John H. Lee is living in Concord, and is proprietor of the Lee hotel, and is also extensively engaged in farming.
J F. MADDEN, farmer and merchant, Concord, Pike Co., was born in this county in June, 1841, and is the son of James M. and Eliza B. (Mann) Madden. The elder Madden in his younger days was a merchant in Columbus, and after- ward was a justice of the peace in Pike county for twenty years, and tax collector for one term. He was a successful farmer and merchant. He died in 1891 aged eighty-three years, leaving his property to his three children. J. F. Madden was educated in Pike county, and at the breaking out of the war enlisted at Spalding in Company A, Twenty-second battalion, Georgia volunteers, and served through the war as a non-commissioned officer. He was in Savannah until the evacuation, and was severely wounded at the battle of Bentonville. After the close of the conflict he commenced teaching school in Pike county, and taught in the same neighborhood where his father and grandfather had taught before him. Without any effort on his part he was elected to the legislature from Pike for the term 1886-87, and served with distinction on the committees on agriculture and educa- tion. In 1867 Mr. Madison was married to Miss L. J. Irvin, by whom he has five children: William F., J. B., L. O., M. I., and Benjamin Hill. All live in Pike county. Two daughters are at college in Rome and J. B. Madden is teaching school of Jenkensburgh, Butts Co.
DR. J. B. MATHEWS, clerk of the superior court, Zebulon, Pike Co., was born in Oglethorpe county, Oct. 9, 1839. He is the son of Uel and Martha E. (Chandler) Mathews. He was educated in Green and Heard counties, and attended the Oglethorpe Medical college at Savannah. In 1861 he entered the Confederate service, enlisting as a private in Company A, Thirteenth regiment, Georgia volunteers, and served until the close of the war, 1865. He was made captain of the company in 1864, and served in five general engagements, namely: Gaines Mills, second battle of Manassas, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg. He was wounded five times in these bloody battles. Since the close of the war he has been engaged most of the time in teaching in the schools of Pike county. In January, 1895, he was elected clerk of the superior court, which position he now fills. He represented Pike county in the legislature in 1877, and was a member of the county board of education for several years. He has been a member of the Missionary Baptist church for forty-three years and has belonged to the masonic lodge since the age of twenty-one. Dr. Mathews was married in 1865 to Mary E. Brooks, by whom he has had eight children. The eldest, Dr. W. J. Mathews, is a prominent young physician at Zetella, Spalding Co., Ga. The names of the other children are: Martha H. Carreker, Emma U., Charles B., Robert C., John M., Mary E. and Sallie Lou, who is dead.
J. A. STAFFORD, Barnesville, Pike Co., Ga., was born in Upson county, Ga., in January, 1848, and is a son of Alvis and Fannie (Gardner) Stafford. Alvis Stafford was a prominent merchant in Barnesville for forty years before his
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death, which occurred in July, 1888. Mr. J. A. Stafford was educated in the schools of Pike county and has made a success in merchandising; but has devoted most of his time to agriculture and fruit growing. He has large landed interests in both Upson and Pike counties, including a large tract of land near the Rock, in the former county, which is a very eligible location for a town site. It was formerly owned by Dr. Anderson, and with its natural advantages and natural facilities probably has no superior in the state. These railroads cross at this point, affording railroad transportation in any direction. There is a fine rock quarry near at hand for building, and plenty of water for manufacturing purposes. Mr. Stafford's intention is to sell this land in small tracts and build up a manufac- turing town there. He is a member of the Methodist church and a member of several beneficial orders. He was married first in 1867, and after the death of his first wife he again married in 1882. He has three children: Frank A., Mary Ellen and Sam Stafford, all living in this county.
S. T. WHITAKER, physician and surgeon, Molena, was born May 16, 1857, and is a son of Dr. William and Elizabeth (Harper) Whitaker, natives of. Georgia. Dr. William Whitaker still practices medicine at Brooks station, Fayette Co. He distinguished himself during the war by his deeds of charity and his efficient professional service to soldiers' families. The grandfather of Dr. S. T. Whitaker was in the legislature for many terms and was a prominent man in the state's history. His maternal grandfather, Gov. Irwin, made his name famous while occupying the gubernatorial chair in 1796, by causing an investigation of the Yazoo fraud. Dr. Whitaker is a graduate of the Georgia Eclectic school at Atlanta, in the class of 1884, and practiced his profession for two years in that city, afterward moving to Molena. He is a member of the Baptist church, of the school board and town council, and is one of the leading citizens of the com- munity. In 1883 he was married to Mary L. Green, daughter of Dr. H. H. Green of Atlanta, by whom he has had four children: W. H., Thomas S., Elijah and Vassa Lenora. Dr. Whitaker stands high in his profession and in social circles, and enjoys the confidence of the people of Molena. He is a member of the National Eclectic Medical and the Georgia Eclectic Medical associations, and an honorary member of the Arkansas Eclectic Medical association.
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