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 138

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 138

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JOHN H. TRAYLOR, farmer, Lovelace, Troup Co., Ga., son of Rev. John C. and Tabitha (Bailey) Traylor, was born in Virginia in 1824. His paternal great-grandparents, William C. and Elizabeth Taylor, were natives of England, and came to America before the revolutionary war. He had a crown grant for 6,000 acres of land near where Petersburg, Va., now stands. He was born in England in 1674 and died in Virginia in 1753. His grandparents were Humphrey and Sarah (Pegram) Traylor. He was a large planter, and was a soldier in the patriot army during the revolutionary war. In religion he was a pronounced and devout Episcopalian. Mr. Traylor's father was born in Dinwiddie and his mother in Henry county, Va. He was well educated, and was a soldier in the last war with Great Britain. When he joined the Methodist church, in which he afterward became an able and useful ordained preacher, his father, who was, as already stated, an uncompromising Episcopalian, manifested great indignation, and de- clared he had disgraced the family. He came with his family to Georgia in 1842 and settled in Troup county, where he lived until his death, which occurred in 1855. Mr. Traylor's maternal great-grandparents were Parks and Mary (Cabaniss) Bailey, who were native Virginians, and he was a soldier in the revolutionary war. Her father, Charles Cabaniss, was the first man who put up a package (plug) of manufactured tobacco. His maternal grandparents were John and Sarah (Allen, nee Smith) Bailey. She was a widow Allen, and great-grandmother of Private John Allen, the distinguished ex-representative in congress from Mississippi. John Bailey served as a soldier during the war of 1812. Mr. Traylor was reared in Virginia, and received a very good primary education in the common schools taught in the old-time log house, and then went a year to Emory and Henry college. In 1842 he came with his parents to Georgia, and settled in Troup county, where he has lived and been engaged in farming ever since. In 1884 he was elected to represent Troup county in the general assembly, and served one term.

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Mr. Traylor inherits more than usual intellectual capacity and business ability from an ancestry distinguished for love of independence and progressive charac- teristics, and is himself a progressive man, keeps abreast with the advanced thought and improvements of the times, and takes an active and prominent part in. all movements promising development and advancement of resources and people. along all the lines of human endeavor. Col. Traylor was married in 1844 to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Charles C. and Martha H. (Roland) Bailey. Her father was born in Tennessee, and was the son of Parks and Mary (Cabaniss) Bailey, who were natives of Virginia. Parks Bailey was a soldier in the revolutionary army, and Charles C. Bailey was with Gen. Jackson at New Orleans, in 1815, a soldier in the Tennessee volunteers. Her mother was a daughter of Baldwin Roland, of Virginia. Of nine children born to Col. and Mrs. Traylor seven survive: Robert, married Miss Virginia, daughter of Eulam and Sarah A. (Traylor). McDonald; George, married Mary H., daughter of William and Eudora (Harper) Couper; Thomas H .; Jerry R .; Elizabeth; Martha T., Mrs. Thomas H. Northen (son of ex-Gov. W. J. Northen), and Marshall E. Col. and Mrs. Traylor are. prominent and influential members of the Methodist church.

OROON D. WHITAKER, farmer, West Point, Troup Co., Ga., son of Samuel T. and Maria L. (Thornton) Whitaker, was born in Troup county in 1849. His paternal grandfather, Oroon Whitaker, was a native of Virginia, a soldier in the last war with Great Britain, came to Georgia in 1820, and settled in Putnam county. Mr. Whitaker's father was born in Putnani county, Nov. 7, 1825, and two years later came to Troup county with his parents, where he grew to manhood. For many years he was a large and prosperous merchant at West Point, with which he conducted a banking business. He was an enthusiastic politician, but never allowed his name to be used for office. He was a master Mason, and reputed to have been one of the brightest in the state. He was also an ardent member of the Baptist church. His mother was a daughter of Reuben and Mariah L. (Winston) Thornton, natives of Virginia, who were among the pioneer settlers of Greene county, Ga. Her father was the first white man to run a boat on the Chattahoochee river, which he did conducting trade with the Indians. When he died he left a large and very valuable estate. Mr. Whitaker was reared and received a good common school education in West Point. With no patri- mony he began life there as a clerk in a drug store, and in 1870 engaged in the dry goods trade, in which he continued two years. Abandoning mercantile life he turned his attention to farming, which he has followed since with satisfactory success, having a fine, excellently well-improved farm of 450 acres, and ranking high as a farmer and citizen. Mr. Whitaker was married in 1870 to Miss Dona Holston, born in Chambers county, Ala., daughter of Stanmore and Satira (Grigsby) Holston, natives of South Carolina, and pioneer settlers of Chambers. county. Ten children have blessed this union: Wm. D., Reuben T., Carrie D., Mary J., Stanmore, James H., Samuel H., O. D., Ira L. and Maria L. Himself and wife are members of the Baptist church, and he is a member of the Royal Arcanum.

JOHN T. WHITE, farmer, O'Neal's Mills, Troup Co., Ga., son of W. M. and Louisa S. (Owens) White, was born in Jasper county, Ga., in 1826. His grandfather, Samuel White, was born in Ireland, and came to the United States in 1795 and settled in the woods in Georgia, where he cleared the ground for a farm. He was six months crossing the ocean. Mr. White's father was born in what is now Jasper county, in 1806, and his mother was born in what is now Putnam county in 1805. His maternal grandfather, John N. Owens, was born in

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.ROUP COUNTY SKETCHES.

Virginia, where he married a Miss Childs, and then came to Georgia and settled in what is now Putnam county, where he lived until 1829, when he removed to Meriwether county. He was a volunteer soldier in the Creek Indian war of 1836. Mr. White was reared on the farm, schooled in the old-time "old field" dirt-floor log schoolhouse of that period. He followed farming until 1861, when he enlisted in the Fannin guards, afterward Company B, Sixtieth Georgia regiment. With his command he was in many hard-fought battles, served through the entire war and surrendered at Appomattox. Although he did arduous service and ex- perienced the dangerous exposures and hardships incident to war, he escaped being wounded or captured. Of seven other brothers who entered the service only four returned. He returned from the war without a dollar, but went to work at blacksmithing and worked at it for thirty years, and farmed in connection with working at his trade. His industry, economy and good management have worked out for him a good competency. He is now the owner of nearly 850 acres of good land, enough of it cleared to give him a splendid farm, whose good condition and substantial improvements will favorably compare with the best in the county. He is considered one of the best blacksmiths, a careful and successful farmer and as a citizen held in high esteem and worthy of the fullest confidence in all respects. Mr. White was married in 1863 to Miss Nannie Smith, daughter of J. A. and Mary (Thompson) Smith. Her father was born in Ireland, emi- grated to this country and settled in what is now Putnam county, Ga. When he married he went to housekeeping on a dirt-floor log cabin. His first bedstead was made by driving a forked stick in the ground. On this rested one end of the foot and side-rails, the other end of each inserted in holes bored in the logs of which the cabin was built. Boards were then laid on the rails and the bedstead was complete. Mr. Smith moved to Troup county in about 1832, and Mr. White's wife was born within a mile of where she now lives. To Mr. and Mrs. White four children have been born: Elizabeth, Mary L., John W. and Virgil A. He has been a member of the masonic fraternity forty-five years and his wife is a member of the Primitive Baptist church.

A. C. WILLIAMS, farmer, West Point, Troup Co., Ga., son of David and Tabitha (White) Williams, was born in Meriwether county, Ga., in 1834. His grandfather on his father's side, Gabriel Williams, was a native of Wales, came to this country after the revolutionary war and was a soldier during the war of 1812. Mr. Williams' father was born in Virginia, where he married and migrated to Edgefield district, S. C., where he lived until 1820, when he came in ox-carts to Georgia and settled in the woods in what is now Monroe county. He remained in Monroe county until about 1829, when he moved to Meriwether county, settled in the woods and cleared a farm. He was a blacksmith by trade and a skilled workman. Although he has been dead thirty-five years, there are axes of his make now in the surrounding country. Mr. Williams' mother was a daughter of Jonathan White, of a family of early settlers in this state. Mr. Williams was reared on the farm and educated in the common schools of the county, and on arriving at manhood engaged in farming. In 1862 he enlisted in Company E, Capt. Andrew, Forty-sixth Georgia regiment, Col. Colquitt. In 1863 he came home and not long afterward was elected captain of one of Gov. Brown's special companies. Subsequently he enlisted in the Third Georgia cavalry, which was under the command of Gen. Joe Wheeler, of Alabama. He was in many obstinately contested engagements, including the battles around Atlanta, but was so fortunate as to escape being wounded or captured. After the surrender he resumed farming in Harris county, not far from West Point, in

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which he has been prosperous. He is enterprising and progressive, fully alive to the public interests, and a promoter of every movement which promises de- velopment and improvement. Mr. Williams was married in 1856 to Miss Sarah Lovelace, born and reared in Troup county, daughter of Lucius C. and Obedience (Robinson) Lovelace, by whom he has had five children: Lucius, Mary, Dora, Lizzie and Leila, who died soon after her marriage. Himself and wife are active and influential members of the Methodist church.

JAMES G. YOUNG, farmer, La Grange, Troup Co., Ga., son of Leonard H. and Rebecca (Leftridge) Young, was born in Talbot county, Ga., in 1830. His paternal grandparents were natives of Virginia, whence they came to Georgia the latter part of the last century and settled in the woods in that portion of Wilkes, now Oglethorpe county, where his father was born in 1793. His maternal grand- parents were also natives of Virginia, who came to Georgia about the beginning of the present century. Mr. Young was reared on the farm and went to the schools kept in the historic log schoolhouse of the period. In 1862 he enlisted in Company C, Ferrell's battery of artillery, which was assigned to service under Gen. Roddy, of Alabama. He remained in the service through the war, and was in many hard-fought battles and numerous skirmishes. He was in the battle at Resaca, and almost continuously on duty in front of Gen. Sherman from there to Atlanta. At the close of the war he came to Troup county and commenced farming, doing his first work in the old uniform he came out of the Confederate service with. Beginning in this way without a dollar he has by stcady hard work, cconomy and a judicious use of his surplus earnings, become the owner of 1,200 acres of good land on the Chattahoochee river, and is one of the leading pros- perous and progressive farmers of the county. Mr. Young was married in 1867 to Miss Martha J. Freeman, born and reared in Troup county, daughter of Jacob and Martha (Birdsong) Freeman, by whom he has had ten children: Emma C., James L., Clem J., Chas. W., Martha R., Anna S., Frank R., Mary L., and Ethel and Estella (twins). Mr. Young is a master Mason and Mrs. Young is a mem- bcr of the Baptist church.

TWIGGS COUNTY.

ALLEN FRANKLIN BECKCOM. Among the most widely known and highly respected of the earlier settlers of Twiggs county stands the name of Wn. Beckcom, the grandfather of the above-named gentleman. A native of Washing- ton county, he came to Twiggs when quite a young man and bought large tracts of unimproved land, all of which he merged into one plantation. In time his possessions became very valuable, for in addition to his landed estatcs, he owned numerous mercantile establishments. Though not soliciting political favor he was largely instrumental in bestowing the same on many of his friends, among whom were numbered some of Georgia's most distinguished men. His death occurred April, 1839. His wife, who was Miss Dolly Nusum, a member of an old and prominent family of Georgia, died in 1829. Their family consisted of nine children: Sherwood, Amanda, Mary, Sarah, Allen and Solomon G., all deceased. Those living are: Simon N., removed to Texas, 1859; Susan, Mrs. Hardin T. Smith, and Laban. The last-named, the fourth child and twin of

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TWIGGS COUNTY SKETCHES.

Sarah, is the father of Allen F. Beckcom, and was born Dec. 4, 1808, in Washington county, Ga. He was reared on the old family plantation and received such edu- cation as the schools of that time afforded. Like his father, he followed the occupation of planter, and going to Twiggs county, he located on a plantation there. Married to Sarah, daughter of John Faulk, they became the parents of the following children: Amanda H., Mrs. Dr. Richardson; Allen F., W. H., Thomas and Susan, who are dead. Allen F. was born in Twiggs county Dec. 23, 1837. His school days were spent at Griffin, where he acquired a good edu- cation. At the age of twenty-four he enlisted in James M. Folsom's company, Twiggs volunteer infantry, but soon after active service began, illness caused his return home. After his recovery he became a member of the state troops and took active part in many engagements, having had command of a company at the battle of Griswoldville. The battle was particularly fierce, many being killed or wounded. However, good fortune attended Mr. Beckcom and he escaped without a wound. Returning from the war he settled on the plantation, and in 1868 was united in marriage to Mrs. Ella Johnson (nee Wiggin), daughter of Mary S. and W. W. Wiggin. One daughter came to bless the union, Ella G. Mr. Beckcom is a true democrat and a member of the M. E. church. He devotes his entire time to the cultivation of his large plantation of 2,500 acres. He is spoken of as one of the most successful agriculturists in the county.

JAMES CLEMENTS BURNS was born March 7, 1840, and died Jan. 8, 1894.

He was the son of James C. and Belle Burns. His father's death occurred in 1861, and his mother, whose maiden name was King, died in 1869. They left four sons and two daughters. Two of the sons, Joseph K and Francis M. Burns, and the two daughters, Mrs. G. A. Glover, and Mrs. F. B. Floyd, still survive them. The boyhood days of James C. Burns were passed on his father's plantation in Twiggs county, where he received a common school education. When older he attended school at Hot Springs, Miss. On returning home he became actively engaged in farming, which he followed up to the time of his death, at which time he was farming on an extensive scale, and was one of the most prominent and successful planters in Twiggs county. In 1861 Mr. Burns married Mrs. Mary Ellen Hall, a daughter of Joseph Williams, a prominent planter of South Carolina. To this marriage no children were born. At the time of his death he had accumu- lated quite a large property, the result of a life of honesty and industry. Though not a professed member of any church, he lived an upright, exemplary life, ever ready to contribute liberally to any charitable project, never turning a deaf ear to the appeals of the poor and needy, but always acting in a liberal but unosten- tatious spirit; charitable and generous to a fault; a stanch defender of the right, and always frowning down and spurning corruptions and immorality in any and all places. In politics he was a lifelong democrat, and took an active interest in political matters, though he was in no way considered a politician. His wife, two brothers and two sisters survive him.

CAPT. WM. E. CARSWELL, planter, Jeffersonville. This prominent citizen of Twiggs county is a descendant of a family always, and wherever found, of wide influence and of fine character. The above gentleman's paternal grandsire, Matthew Carswell, was a native of Jefferson county, Ga., his father before him having emigrated from Ireland. He was a planter of large means, his chief moral characteristic having been his intense loyalty to the Methodist church. He married and reared five children: James, Alexander, Wm. E., Samuel M., and Sarah. Of these Wm. E. was the father of Capt. Carswell. He was born in Jefferson county in 1807, received a superior education for those early times,

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and was for many years a prominent cducator in his section. He married Eliza- beth J. Gilbert of Wilkinson county, who bore him five children: John, Rufus, Eugenia, James, and W. E., four of whom died in infancy. William E. Carswell was a man of fine intellect and during his lifetime accumulated a fine property. He was in political belief a disciple of Henry Clay, and a devoted member of the Missionary Baptist church. He died in Wilkinson county, where he had passed his life, in 1887. Capt. William Edward Carswell was the youngest child and was born Nov. 5, 1836, in Wilkinson county. He was educated at Jefferson- ville academy, and has passed his life as a planter. In 1861 he enlisted in the Carswell guards, a company so called in honor of his father, who equipped them at his own expense. Third lieutenant at the outset, promotion soon came to him and he led the company as its chief officer during the major part of the war, participating in a number of engagements, and received several serious wounds. The principal engagements were Malvern hill, Roan station, Gettysburg, where he received a ball in his left leg. Petersburg, where he was again wounded, Sharps- burg, Cold harbor, Wilderness, Chancellorsville, and many minor engagements. His marriage was consummated while on a furlough in 1863, Dec. 16, with Miss Anna, daughter of John Chapman, of Twiggs county. He located in Twiggs county after the surrender, but soon returned to Wilkinson, where he remained until 1875, when he settled on the plantation he now cultivates. This consists of 1,200 acres of choice land, which, together with his other real estate interests, will aggregate thousands of acres. A democrat, but not a politician, Capt. Cars- well affiliates in religion with the New Providence Baptist church. A large and interesting family of children have been and are being reared about his hearth- stone, in whom the captain feels a just pride. Their names are: Eugenia, mar- ried; Laura L .; Mattie M., Mrs. Dr. W. A. Daniel, state physician during Gov. Northen's administration; Anna T .; Iverson C .; Elizabeth; Wm. R .; and Will- iam E., Jr., deceased.

BENIAH S. CARSWELL, Jeffersonville, for many years a practicing physician of this place, who devoted a lifetime to the amelioration of the ills of mankind, died June 1, 1895, mourned by all who were fortunate to know him. Dr. Cars- well was born in Telfair county, Ga., Nov. 26, 1830, the son of Alex. Carswell. The latter gentleman was born and reared in Louisville, Jefferson Co., while that town was the capital of the state. He became a planter and later in life moved to Twiggs county, where he died in 1853. Dr. Carswell was but six years of age when his parents removed to Twiggs county. This was in early days, indeed, for Jeffersonville at that time had not even entered the mind of man. The town was afterward laid out, and an academy established, the site being called Jeffer- sonville in honor of a noted teacher of the county, Jefferson Bryant. The academy was a marvel in its day. Here Dr. Carswell was reared and educated, and selecting medicine as a profession, began its systematic study. He graduated at Jefferson Medical college, Philadelphia, in 1851, but being conscientiously opposed to entering upon the active practice of so important a profession as that of medicine without thorough training, he continued in post graduate study until 1856, when he located at a point now known as Allentown. After three years he removed to Jeffersonville, and afterward practiced from that point. The doctor was twice married and reared an interesting family of children of whom he was justly proud, they having received readily and creditably an excellent education. The doctor's first consort was Carrie C. Sears, of Allentown, whom he married Aug. 26, 1858, while she was not yet fourteen, and who became the mother of five children: Carrie Lela, Mrs. Jas. Evert: Eli S. (deceased); De Witt, Twiggs county; Robert, (deceased at fifteen); and Cornelia, Mrs. Wm. Booth, Pulaski county. The mother

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TWIGGS COUNTY SKETCHES.

of these children was called to her reward Nov. 19, 1880, and on Dec. 15, 1881, Miss Mattie R. Harrell became the doctor's wife. Although reared in the princi- ples of whigism the doctor bowed with the best grace possible to the inevitable, and entered the democratic party after the war, and with which he affiliated till his death. Profoundly religious from his youth, he early united with the M. E. church, of which he was a faithful working member from his fourteenth year.

I RA E. DU PREE, a prominent physician of Twiggs county, comes of excellent lineage, of French extraction, and of a family conspicuous for estimable social and mental characteristics. His father, Ira E., Sr., was born in Washington county, Ga., April 26, 1800. Not having the advantages of a good school he yet applied himself with such assiduity as to perfect himself in several languages, being able to converse fluently in French, German and Latin. Strange to say, he also became noted as a mathematician, two branches in which one mind very seldom becomes proficient. He studied medicine, and in a continuous practice from 1825 to 1869 became widely and most favorably known. He took great interest in public questions and was a great admirer and defender of the principles of the great commoner, Henry Clay. He was elected to the senate in 1860, and in that body was the opponent of Joshua Hill for congress. A dead-lock ensued, which was at last broken by one vote, giving the election to his opponent. He was for many years the president of the State Medical association, a fact which evidences the value set upon him by his peers. He was a man of superior oratorical attainments, of most commanding presence, standing six feet two inches in his stocking feet and weighing 220 pounds. He died March 17, 1869, after a long and well spent life. His life was complemented rightly by the pres- ence of a noble woman, Miss Travis Bryan, who was a daughter of John C. Bryan, a prominent member of the state legislature of North Carolina. She bore him children as follows, and died June 9, 1885: Ellen, now Mrs. M. J. Carswell, of Irvington, Ga .: James, a leading attorney and ex-member of the state legislature at Macon; Mattie, who became the wife of H. A. Snetting, of Atlanta; and Dr. Ira E. This last named gentleman was born Oct. 20, 1854. At twenty he was graduated from the Louisville Medical college, immediately after which he returned home and established himself in Twiggs county, where he rapidly gained in reputation, and built up a practice limited only by his powers of physical endur- ance. Ambitious of being complete master of his profession he went to New York in 1884 and attended a course at the Post Graduate Medical school in that city; and in 1889 attended a course at and was graduated from the New York Polyclinic. With his early and subsequent equipment he has practiced his pro- fession for twenty-three years in a rural region, and had the rare success of accumulating a fortune. He is now located at Danville, where he also cultivates a large plantation. The doctor was happily married to Fannie C., daughter of Dr. Richard D. Moore, of Athens, Ga., to whom have been born two bright chil- dren: Daniel Hughes, and Elliott Moore. In the matter of religion the house- hold is somewhat divided, the doctor being a Baptist, while his wife is an Episco- palian. Though not a politician, the doctor takes a lively interest in the welfare of the democratic party, which elicits his hearty support.

WILLIAM JOEL HARRISON, farmer and state senator from Twiggs county, where he was born Jan. 17, 1841, is the eldest son of Zachariah Harrison. He was reared on a plantation and had just reached manhood's estate when the great civil war broke out between the states. He enlisted as a private in Capt. Jas. Folsom's company, Company C, Fourth Georgia regiment, and left for the front in the latter part of April, 1861. His first serious engagements were the

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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 138

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