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 114

Author:
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association
Number of Pages: 1166

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 114

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nooga, Chickamauga, and Lookout mountain, Tenn., Dalton, Resaca, Peachtree creek, and Atlanta, Ga., the siege of Savannah, Averysborough and Bentonville, N. C. In 1869 Mr. Barrett was elected a member of the common council of Augusta and served one year. Two years later, he was again elected to the same position, and held it seven consecutive years, serving all the while as chairman of the finance committee, in which capacity he did much toward the building of the magnificent canal that furnishes the power for the numerous factories of Augusta. This canal has no equal in the southern states, and was erected at a cost of $1,000,000. Mr. Barrett is a master Mason and affiliates with the Presbyterian church. He was joined in the holy bonds of wedlock, in February, 1861, to Grace Arrington Ware, a daughter of Dr. Edward R. Ware, Athens, Ga., a native of the state of Georgia ; and that union, which has proved an ideally happy one, has been blessed by the birth of five children, viz .: Thomas Barrett, Margaret E., wife of L. A. Dugas, Jr., of Augusta, Edward Ware Barrett, Harry Gould Barrett, Savannah G. Barrett. In January, 1893, Grace Arrington (Ware) Barrett departed this life. She was a noble, Christian woman, loved and respected by all who knew her; the idol of her husband and the confidant and comforter of her children.

PETER GROVE BURUM, merchant and financier, president of the Commercial bank, and ex-president of the Cotton exchange, of Augusta, Ga., was born in Blount county, near the city of Knoxville, Tenn., June 13, 1839. He is of German descent, his ancestors coming from the town of Bierum, Holland, to Long Island, N. Y., in 1636. His great-grandfather, Simon Boerum, was a member of the first continental congress. His grandfather, Henry Burum, a gallant revolutionary soldier, moved to Virginia in 1783, and to the county of Hawkins, Tennessee, in 1784, buying one of the finest plantations in that county, which farm still remains in the possession of the family. His father was Henry Burum, and his mother Miss Nancy, daughter of Burrell Baggett, the wealthiest citizen of Knox Co., Tenn. His education was academic, such as was afforded by the community in which he lived. At the age of fifteen he left school and served as clerk at a small store in east Tennessee for one year, thence coming to Augusta, Ga., as the representative of a Knoxville and Augusta shipping and produce concern. Soon after coming to Augusta he engaged as clerk for Jesse Turpin, wholesale crockery. In May, 1861, he enlisted as a private in the Fifth Georgia regiment, and served in that command until captured at Bentonville, N. C. He was an active participant in the battles of Cumberland gap, Santa Rosa island, Black Land, Miss .; Murfrees- boro, Lookout mountain, Chickamauga, and the retreat to Atlanta. Later he was assigned to duty in Florida, in Charleston, S. C., and at Florence, Ala., being engaged at those places in several minor skirmishes. After the close of hostilities he returned to his home in Knox county, but not being allowed to remain, came immediately to Augusta, with but two and a half dollars in his pocket, which was paid out on his arrival at that city for a night's lodging. Learning of his destitu- tion, his old brigadier-general, J. K. Jackson, kindly allowed him the use of his bed and board until he secured a position as purser on the "Christopher," plying between Augusta and Savannah, which boat was burned on the second trip. After being in water twelve hours, with no clothing save his under apparel, he was finally picked up and brought back to Augusta. Securing the position of purser soon thereafter on the "R. H. May," this boat, also, burned on the second trip out, and again he was fortunate enough to be rescued and returned to Augusta. Then he began to act as salesman for J. A. Amsley, tobacco manufacturer, one year later entering the employ of the Granite flour mill, of Augusta, for one year. In 1870 he formed a partnership with Josiah Miller in the grocery business, clearing about $7,000 on a joint capital of less than $5,000. Then the firm of Miller, Bissell

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& Burum was formed, which firm was eminently successful, making profits to. the amount of about $40,000 in the one year of its existence. Continuing alone for several years in the grocery business, Mr. Burum then formed a partnership with B. O. Miller, which was continued until 1894, when the son of the senior partner, Mr. H. P. Burum, was associated in the business, under the style of Burum, Miller & Co. Mr. Peter G. Burum is one of the solid commercial pillars of the city of Augusta, and is of great modesty and the highest commercial qualities. He is ex-president of the Augusta Steamboat company, president of the Diamond Blue Granite company, ex-president of the Augusta Cotton exchange, and vice- president of the Augusta Ice company; also president of the Commercial bank, and warden of the (Episcopal) church of the Atonement. In commercial circles the name of Peter G. Burum is a synonym for integrity, fair dealing, promptness, energy and business capacity, and he is undoubtedly a most notable example of the class of men who are infusing new life into the "Electric city," and are upbuilding the new south. Mr. Burum was happily married, in 1866, to Miss Ellen, daughter of the late P. D. Boutet, of Augusta, and that union has been blessed by the birth of a son, Henry P., now in business with his father in Augusta, as before men- tioned.

MICHAEL PHILIP CARROLL, ESQ., one of the most prominent attorneys of Augusta. Ga., was born in St. Mary's county, Md., March 2, 1841, and is the only child born to Henry and Lucretia L. (Briscoe) Carroll. Henry J. Carroll was born March 2, 1818, and was the son of Michael B. Carroll, who was captain in the United States navy, and resigned from the navy in 1817. He was a member of the Catholic church and died in 1824. He served at New Orleans, under Con- modore David Porter, and was the executive officer under Commodore Decatur during the war with Tripoli. The father of Michael B. Carroll was David, the son of Charles. The Carroll family is prominently identified with the early history of the United States, and particularly with the history of the state of Maryland. Lucretia L. (Briscoe) Carroll was born in 1820, in St. Mary's county, Md., and was a daughter of Philip Briscoe, a noted teacher of Maryland, and the president for many years of Charlotte Hall academy, one of the oldest schools in the state. His sons are still connected with that institution. Dr. John H. Briscoe, the father of Philip Briscoe was a nephew of John Hanson, the first president of the conti- nental congress of the American colonies. Michael P. Carroll was reared and resided in the county of his birth until his fourteenth year, at that time becoming a student at that venerable and renowned Catholic institution, Georgetown college, in the District of Columbia. Later he entered Mount St. Mary's college, at Em- mettsburg, Md., graduating from that institution in 1859. Immediately after his graduation he began the study of the law under the tutorage of William Meade Addison, of Baltimore, who was then United States district attorney for Maryland, and Mr. Carroll was admitted to the bar in that city during the month of April, 1861. During the following month he went to Richmond, Va., and enlisted as a private in Company B of the Twenty-first Virginia infantry. He served as a private until January, 1863, when he was placed on the staff of Gen. John Gregg, of Texas, remaining on that staff until after the battle of Chickamauga, Tenn., in which battle he was severely wounded in the lower part of the right leg. On recovering from his wound, Mr. Carroll was assigned to the staff of Gen. A. R. Wright, of Georgia, and served in that capacity until the close of hostilities. As a soldier Mr. Carroll was brave and fearless, and demonstrated his courage in the hard-fought battles of Kernstown, Front Royal, Winchester, Turner's farm, Cross Keys, McDowell, seven days' around Richmond, Cedar mountain, second Man-

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assas, Harper's Ferry, Antietam, Port Hudson, La .; Raymond, Miss .; Mississippi Springs, Jackson, Chickamauga, and Savannah, participating also in many minor skirmishes. When peace was declared and the Confederate soldiers returned to their homes, Mr. Carroll located in Burke county, Ga., and from 1866 to 1872 was engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1871 he was admitted to practice in the superior courts of Georgia, removing to the city of Augusta the next year, and has ever since been actively and successfully engaged there in the practice of his profession. Among the members of the bar of Augusta Mr. Carroll sustains a most desirable rank; as a lawyer he is noted for his conciseness of expression and the profundity of his research, and is also a thorough master of the principle of precedent. Socially, he is an ever-welcome guest in any assemblage of the wit and wisdom of Augusta, and in the pantheon of her genius the statue of the gentleman whose name entitles this sketch will stand on a pedestal not less high than those erected for his compeers. On July 19, 1864, Mr. Carroll was happily married, in Augusta, Ga., to Miss Jennie McNatt, a native of Burke county, Ga., and a daughter of A. and Emiline (Hart) McNatt. This union has been blessed by the birth of ten children, of whom two sons and four daughters survive, viz .: Emma Hart, William B., Jennie, Eleanor, Robert, and Helen. Mr. Carroll is an honored member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and has occupied the chair of exalted ruler of his lodge. Both he and his estimable wife are con- sistent members of the Catholic church.

MARSDEN ASBURY CLECKLEY, M. D. The most useful, the most worthy men are not always those who shine with the greatest brilliancy before the world, and astonish the senses with wonderful exploits. The life of a professional man affords but few incidents to excite the interest or attract attention, but it is none the less worthy of record. The subject of this sketch, as one of the most suc- cessful homeopathic physicians of Georgia, is justly entitled to a place in a work designed to perpetuate the memory of those who have achieved distinction. Dr. Cleckley was born Sept. 6, 1832, near Orangeburg, S. C., the son of John L. and Margaret (Treutlen) Cleckley, both natives of South Carolina. His paternal grandfather was a native of Germany and served as a soldier in the army of the colonies during the war of the revolution, achieving fame and distinction by cap- turing the notorious tory, Wolf. The maternal great-grandfather was John Treutlen, the first governor of Georgia under the new constitution, who, during the troublous period when South Carolina tried to usurp authority over her younger sister state, thus unifying the two, battled bravely for her integrity, and preserved her autonomy. He was afterward inhumanly murdered by the tories in South Carolina, thus becoming a noble martyr to the cause of right.

"The sweet remembrance of the just, true and brave, Like a green root, revives and beats A train of blessings for their heirs, When dying nature sleeps in dust."

At the age of eight years Dr. Cleckley removed with his parents from South Carolina to Enon, Ala., receiving his education at that place. Thence he removed to Columbus, Ga., and began the study of medicine; in 1853, entering the Home- opathic college, Philadelphia, Pa., from which institution he was graduated three years later. Immediately after his graduation he entered actively upon the practice of his profession at Columbus, Ga., in 1857, removing to Nashville, Tenn., and coming to Augusta in September of the following year. In Augusta, Dr. Cleck- ley is ranked among the most successful members of the medical profession, and

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has accumulated quite a large share of this world's goods. During the war between the states he was appointed surgeon, in charge of the local troops of Augusta, and of those at the arsenal near that city, and he served in that capacity throughout the war. After the close of hostilities he resumed the practice of his profession in Augusta, and has continued uninterruptedly and successfully in the practice at that place up to the present time. In January, 1895, there was organized in the city of Atlanta the homeopathic board of medical examiners, of which he was appointed by the governor a member, the honor of president being conferred upon him by its members. On Sept. 22, 1864, he was married to Catharine Campbell, daughter of the late George and Margaret Cunningham Schley. Their lives were blessed by the birth of four children, two of whom survive, viz .: Mary Montford and Marsden Treutlen. Dr. Cleckley is a man of sterling worth, a true Christian gentleman, whose soul is the mirror of truthfulness and honor. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, south, and is held in the highest esteem by all who know him.

C. HENRY COHEN, solicitor-general of the Augusta circuit, Georgia judiciary, was born in Charleston, S. C., in 1856. When a mere child his parents re- moved to Augusta, Ga., and his education was received at the Richmond County academy, located in Augusta, and at that venerable and renowned Catholic insti- tution, Georgetown college, in the District of Columbia, receiving his diploma as a graduate from the literary department of the latter college in 1877. Returning to Augusta, he entered the law office of Barnes & Cumming, and was admitted to practice in the superior courts of Georgia in 1877. Mr. Cohen at once entered actively and successfully upon the practice of his profession, and so rapid was his rise at the bar that he was appointed solicitor-general by Gov. Henry D. McDaniel, and reappointed during the administration of Gov. William J. Northen. Mr. Cohen is very prominent in several fraternal, benevolent and protective orders, and is district deputy grand chancellor of the Knights of Pythias. He was happily joined in the holy bonds of matrimony, in 1882, to Miss Nora V., daughter of the late Col. J. R. Sneed, a very prominent citizen of Savannah, Ga., and this union has proved an ideally happy one.

DR. THOMAS D. COLEMAN, a prominent physician of Augusta, Ga., was born in that city in January, 1865. He was reared and received his primary education there, and in 1881, he entered the Kentucky university, at Lexington, and graduated there in June, 1885, with the degree of A. B. Dr. Coleman then studied medicine a year with his father, Dr. John S. Coleman, in Augusta, Ga., and then went to Johns Hopkins university, Baltimore, where he took a post-graduate course. He was made assistant physiologist in that university for a year, and then went to the university of the city of New York, where he remained two years, being made assistant physiologist the second year in that institution. In 1890 Dr. Coleman came to Augusta and commenced practice. In March, 1893, he was made professor of physiology, to which, in 1894, pathology was added, in the medical college of Georgia, at Augusta. Dr. Coleman belongs to the State Medi- cal association, the American Climatological association, the association of Ameri- can physicians and surgeons, the Augusta academy of medicine, and is a member of the Augusta board of health. He is a consistent member of the Christian church. Dr. Coleman was married in June, 1890, to Miss Annie Lee Adams, of Lexington, Ky.

JOSEPH BRYAN CUMMING, one of the leading lawyers of Georgia, was born in the city of Augusta, that state, on the second day of February, 1836. Here, and in the suburb of Summerville, where his grandfather, Mr. Thomas Cumming,

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and his father, Mr. Henry H. Cumming, always spent the summer season, and where the distinguished subject of this sketch now resides, he went to school in boyhood. At the age of eighteen he was graduated from the university of Georgia, Athens, sharing the first honor with two of his classmates, Gustavus Adolphus Bull and John Harvey Hull. Upon leaving the university, he made a tour of the con- tinent of Europe, which lasted three years, spending most of his time in Paris. Upon his return home, he attended the law school of Harvard university, Cam- bridge, Mass., for one year. In 1859, he was admitted to the bar, at the superior court of Columbia county. Early in 1861, he entered the service of the Southern Confederacy as a private in the Clinch Rifles, which was Company A, of the Fifth Georgia regiment, commanded by Col. John K. Jackson, and which was first stationed at Pensacola, Fla. In September, 1861, he was made lieutenant in Com- pany I, from Columbus; in January, 1862, he was promoted to the captaincy, and served in that rank as assistant adjutant-general in Jackson's brigade, at the battle of Shiloh, in the Kentucky campaign, and at the battle of Murfreesboro. In the latter battle, he had his horse shot from under him, and suffered a slight wound at the battle of Shiloh. After the battle of Murfreesboro, he was ordered to report to Gen. William H. T. Walker, and being subsequently promoted to rank of major, he served in the adjutant-general's department of Walker's command. He was in the Johnston-Sherman campaign from Dalton to Atlanta, in 1864, and took part in the battle of July 22. Maj. Cumming was in every battle of that army from Shiloh until the surrender, excepting those only of Missionary ridge and Jones- borough; and among all the heroes who fought on these sanguinary fields, none has ever received from comrades in arms or superior officers higher meed of praise for gallantry than Maj. Joseph B. Cumming. After the lamented death of Gen. Walker, in that memorable battle of July 22, Maj. Cumming was ordered to report to Gen. Hardee, on whose staff he served until ordered to report to Gen. Hood, who was then commanding the army of Tennessee. He was with Hood in the Tennessee campaign, and was on his staff at the battles of Franklin and Nashville. Upon the removal of Hood and re-appointment of Gen. Johnston to the command of the army of Tennessee, Maj. Cumming was placed on John- ston's staff. Upon the re-organization of the army, in 1865, just before the surrender, he was appointed colonel of a regiment made up of Stephens' brigade; but the army being on the eve of surrender, he did not take command, but re- mained with Johnston until the disbanding of the army at Greensboro, N. C. After his return home, Maj. Cumming devoted himself to the practice of his pro- fession, which he has sedulously pursued to the present time. He is ranked among the ablest members of the Georgia bar, both in his knowledge of the principles of law, in his familiarity with the code of practice, and as a pleader before the bench or jury. In the midst of his large practice, however, he has found time to devote a portion of his time and talents to the public service and has held many positions of responsibility and honor. In 1868 he was made an elector on the Seymour and Blair ticket. In 1870, Maj. Cumming was elected from Richmond county to the Georgia house of representatives, in the organization of which body he was a candidate for speaker, being defeated by Hon. James M. Smith, of Muscogee county, by but eleven votes. Upon Mr. Smith's accession to the gubernatorial chair, Maj. Cumming succeeded him as speaker of the house, which position he held during the winter and summer sessions of 1872. He was not a candidate again for political office until his nomination and election to the state senate in 1877. Though not a member of any church, Maj. Cumming affiliates with the Episcopalian. He was happily married in October, 1860, to Miss Hubbell, a native of Bridgeport, Conn., and a resident of New York city, a union that was blessed with the birth of two children, viz .: Bryan, a distinguished lawyer of the city of Augusta, Ga.,

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and Jane, wife of James P. Verdery, a very prominent citizen of Augusta. Maj. Cumming's intimate acquaintance with literature, combined with his culture and grace of manner, makes his society much sought by the intellectual and refined. He is an effective public speaker, possessing an agreeable and finished style of oratory. His is one of those well-balanced minds which are never thrown from their poise by emergencies of danger and excitement, and his regular intellectual features, will impress an observer as reflecting reliable qualities of head and heart.

HON. JOHN SHELDON DAVIDSON, deceased, was a typical Georgian. Born in Augusta, Ga., and contravening the maxim that, "A prophet is not with- out honor, save in his own country," he never lived anywhere else, but grew up and made his way in the world among the people of the city of his birth, who now delight to do honor to his memory, in appreciation of his efforts in their behalf. His mother was a Treat-a lineal descendant of Robert Treat, the "Charter Oak" gov- ernor of Connecticut, who was lieutenant-governor and governor of that state for twenty-five years, and of Robert Treat Paine, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and long attorney-general of Massachusetts. His father, Wil- liam Dean Davidson, was a native of Newark, N. J. The education of John S. Davidson was obtained at the schools of Augusta and at the Aubury institute, in Twiggs county, Ga. He left school in the latter part of 1864, and some years after the war was associated with James R. Randall, author of Maryland, My Maryland, in the editorial department of the old "Augusta Constitutionalist." After that he studied law, mastered it, and was engaged in that profession, in which he achieved notable success, at the day of his death. In 1884 Mr. Davidson was elected from the floor grand master of the Masons of Georgia, one of the largest and most intel- ligent deliberative bodies of the state. Such an election, he never having held any other office in the grand lodge, had only occurred once prior to that time (United States Senator W. C. Dawson being elected in the same way) in the 150 years of the existence of the grand lodge. In 1884 he was unanimously elected to the state senate, and served as chairman of the finance committee of that body. His committee never lost a report during the session, something which has rarely if ever occurred before in the history of the Georgia legislature. In 1886 he was re-elected to the senate by a large majority, and was unanimously chosen president of that body, and was admittedly one of the finest presiding officers who had ever wielded the gavel in Georgia's legislative halls. He was president of the board of education of Richmond county, and city attorney of the city of Augusta. He never married, and departed this life March 11, 1894, his funeral being conducted according to the ancient rites of the masonic fraternity, and many prominent mem- bers of that order from every section of Georgia and other states participating in the solemn duty. The funeral services were in charge of the grand lodge, and no such concourse of people had been seen at a funeral in Augusta. The many pub- lic bodies of which he was a member attended, and over 4,000 children from the public schools joined the sorrowing throng.

WILLIAM TREAT DAVIDSON, a prominent attorney of Augusta, Ga., was born in Rome, Floyd Co., Ga., Sept. 26, 1848. Paternally he is descended from William Dean Davidson, a native of Newark, N. J., who came south and set- tled in the city of Augusta, Ga., about 1840, dying in that city in 1877. His mother was a Treat-a lineal descendant of Robert Treat, the "Charter Oak" gov- ernor of Connecticut, who was governor and lieutenant-governor of that state for twenty-five years. The father was a merchant throughout his long, active and honorable life. The son, whose name heads this sketch, removed from Rome with his parents to the city of Augusta when an infant six months of age, and received

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his education in the city schools of Augusta. At the age of nineteen he entered his father's store as bookkeeper and manager, serving in that capacity for two years. In the meantime he had studied law at night, frequently reading from the time he closed the store until midnight. His father rather opposed his entering the legal profession, because one member of the family was already an attorney. He was admitted to the bar at the spring term of Richmond superior court, Feb. 8, 1870, after a most rigid examination. He received from the judge presiding and the committee of examination many congratulations for the prompt manner in which every question was answered. During the time he was connected with the mercantile business of his father he had laid by enough money to support himself during the first year of his practice at the bar. In the fall of 1873 he formed a co-partnership in the practice of the law with his brother, John S. Davidson, and that co-partnership existed at the time of the death of the latter, on March 11, 1894. Since the death of his brother Mr. Davidson has continued uninterruptedly in the practice of his chosen profession, in which he has achieved notable success. In April, 1894, Mr. Davidson was elected city attorney of Augusta, to succeed his brother, deceased, and retains that position at the present time. Mr. Davidson saw service during the civil war as a member of Maj. George T. Jackson's brigade, Georgia state troops, serving as a private until the close of hostilities. He was an active participant in the battles of Jonesboro, Griswoldville, Grahamsville, S. C., and the siege of Savannah. Mr. Davidson is a consistent member of the Episcopal church, and is a vestryman of St. Paul's, Augusta. He was married Oct. 14, 1885, to Miss Caroline W., daughter of Judge Sidney A. Wetmore, of Warren, Penn. Mr. Davidson is an honored member of the masonic fraternity, of which his late lamented brother, John S., was grand master of the state of Georgia, and has been worthy master of Webb lodge, No. 166, of Augusta. He is, also, a prominent Knight Templar, being senior warden of Georgia commandery, Augusta. Mr. Davidson has never sought political preferment of any kind, pre- ferring to devote his entire time to the arduous duties of his chosen profession.

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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. II, Part 114

Author: Publication date: 1859 Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association Number of Pages: 1166

Author:
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association
Number of Pages: 1166