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 156

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 156

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WILLIAM ALFRED HALL, planter, Red Level, Wilkinson Co., Ga., son of William Anderson and Edna (Paulk) Hall, was born in Wilkinson county in 1838. His paternal grandfather, Isaac Hall, was one of the earliest settlers of what is now Wilkinson county, and a near relative of Dr. Lyman Hall, one of the Georgia signers of the Declaration of Independence, for whom Hall county was named. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. Mr. Hall's father was born in Wilkinson county Nov. 3, 18II; was for many years a justice of the peace, was a justice of the inferior court, and a member of the board of county commissioners. He was a man of limited means, made annually about fifty bales of cotton, and was of unusual kindly and benevolent disposition. During the war he was detailed to look after the comforts and necessities of soldiers' families. He was also recog- nized as a man of marked ability, discharging every public duty with conscien- tious fidelity and excellent judgment. He was a democrat, and himself and wife were members of the Methodist church. He died July 12, 1892, and his wife, born Jan. 1, 1816, died Sept. 10, 1885. Mr. Hall's mother's father, Paulk, was a descendant of the early settlers of Georgia. Their children were: Mansel M., Company F, Third Georgia regiment, killed at Petersburg; William A., the sub- ject of this sketch; Hansford A., farmer, Wilkinson county; Mary M., deceased; Isaac O., wounded at Atlanta, and died as the result of the amputation of his leg; and Luther A., lawyer, was with the Second regiment, Georgia state troops. Mr. Hall grew to manhood on the old homestead and received only limited educational advantages, to which he added afterward. In 1861 he enlisted in Company D, Fifty-seventh Georgia regiment. He was with the forces at Vicksburg, where he spent forty-eight days and nights in the trenches. He remained with the army until the close of the war, and surrendered at Greensboro, N. C. Returning home he directed his attention to his extensive planting interests, which he has managed with exceptional skill and pecuniary success. He is progressive in his views and practice, and fully alive to all movements promising the material, educational and religious advancement of the county. He has been a member of the board of education six years, and of the board of commissioners five years. Mr. Hall was married in 1868 to Miss M. Vanlandingham, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Dean) Vanlandingham. He was of German extraction, the family having emi-

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grated to Georgia about the close of the last century. This union has been blessed with eight children: Cora E., Max E., Flora L., Ira, Emma R., Alma, John M., and Ethel, all at home, forming an attractive and interesting family circle. He is a master Mason, and himself and wife are prominent members of the Methodist church, of which he is a steward and trustee.

HANSFORD A. HALL, farmer, Toombsboro, Wilkinson Co., Ga., was born in May, 1844. He was raised on the farm and educated at the near-by country schools. He taught school in 1861, and the next year enlisted in Company A, Capt. (afterward colonel) S. T. Player, Forty-ninth Georgia regiment. With his command he was in many of the bloodiest and most stubbornly contested battles of the war, and innumerable skirmishes. He was a participant in the seven days' fight around Richmond, and was severely wounded at Gettysburg, while lying on the ground and supporting a battery. He was carried to the field hospital, and at the end of three months reported for duty. At the battle of the Wilderness he was wounded in the right hip, which knocked it out of shape, and from the wound quite a number of pieces of bone were extracted. The ball is still in his body. After remaining a while in the hospital he came home on a furlough from time to time reported to the board at Macon, and was finally placed on the retired list. As soon as he was able he engaged in farming, and has followed it since as a life-pursuit. He is one of the largest farmers in the county, and is generally regarded as one of the best. He owns now 4,500 acres of splendid land, after having given 1,100 acres to his son; and his farm is said to be one of the best improved and best equipped of any for miles around. He has made nearly all he has and has displayed superior farming ability and business management. He has served the people as justice of the peace and also as county commissioner. Mr. Hall was married in the fall of 1864 to Mary E., daughter of William and Frances (Paine) Dickson, and to them two children have been born: Willie A., born in November, 1865, a successful farmer near Irwinton, Wilkinson Co., and Isaac Oliver, born in January, 1875, at home. Mr. and Mrs. Hall and all the family are active members of the Methodist church, of which he is a steward and trustee.

WORTH COUNTY.

ILLIAM A. AARON, attorney-at-law, Ashburn, Worth Co., Ga., is one of W the bright young men from north Georgia who have gone into the piney woods of the southern part of the state, carrying his home vim and determination with him. He is of Jewish descent, his father having emigrated to the United States from Germany in boyhood. He followed merchandising successfully and located in Newnan, Ga., where he was esteemed for his business ability. He fell at the hands of a band of outlaws which terrorized that vicinity in 1877. William A. Aaron was born Sept. 24, 1869, in Johnson county, Ga., and received his edu- cation in the schools of Sandersville and Statesboro. Before deciding on the law for a profession he tried a mercantile life and also gave school teaching a trial; but concluding that the law was a better field, he began its study in 1890 at States- boro under that prince of lawyers, Col. H. T. Strange. After his admission he spent a year in Statesboro, then came to Ashburn. He is making a specialty, as much as is possible in a small town, of criminal law, and in representing minor

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heirs in unclaimed lands. Mr. Aaron is yet young in the profession, but has already established a reputation which augurs well for his future. He is one of the wheel horses of democracy in his section and delights in doing anything that will advance the interests of his party. He was happily married in June, 1893, in Effingham county, Ga., to Noral L. Futtrell, whose attractiveness and bright social qualities make her a most lovable friend and neighbor.

COLUMBUS A. ALFORD, saw-mill proprietor, Willingham, Worth Co., Ga.,

is a man of affairs in the county, where for the past twenty-two years he has been actively and successfully engaged in developing her wonderful lumber re- sources. His large saw-mill plant at Willingham supplies an extensive foreign and coast-wise trade, and under the management of Mr. Alford has placed its owner in comparatively easy circumstances. Mr. Alford's parents resided in Wake county, N. C., at the time of his birth, Feb. 6, 1850, where his father was a suc- cessful planter, lumberman and manufacturer of naval stores for a period of years -- up to the time of his death in 1878. The son was given a good academic edu- cation and in 1871 came to Worth county, Ga., where he engaged in the manu- facture of naval stores at Sumner for twelve years, thence removing to Willingham. During his residence in Worth county Mr. Alford has found time from business cares to take an active and influential part in the public life of the county, having served on the board of commissioners several years, and on the board of educa- tion, of which body he is now a member. In 1888, in appreciation of his services to the democratic party, and in recognition of his ability and worth as exemplified in his private affairs, he was nominated and elected to the state senate from the tenth district. He served in the two following sessions with credit to himself and satisfaction to his constituents. He is a member of Worth lodge No. 194, A. F. and A. M., and of Warrior lodge of the Knights of Honor. Mr. Alford has been twice married, and is the father of seven children, his first wife having been Martha A. Sumner, of Sumner, Ga., who died in 1881, leaving two chil- dren: Beulah B. and Grace F. His second and present estimable wife was Jennie E., daughter of Benjamin Johnston, of Americus, Ga., who has borne him five children: Mattie B., Bennie L., Frankie E., Columbus A. and Earl J.

JOHN W. EVANS is a member of the well-known firm of J. S. Betts & Co., which operates one of the most extensive milling plants in southern Georgia, at Ashburn, Worth Co. His father, Sterling G. Evans, was a planter of Hancock county, who died in 1876, after a long and useful life. John W. Evans was born in Hancock county Sept. 27, 1844, and was educated at old Mt. Zion academy under the early teaching of ex-Gov. W. J. Northen. The great civil war began just as Mr. Evans was of that age when the fires of youth burn brightest, and the early days of the year 1861 found him a soldier in the Fifteenth Georgia regiment. He afterward became a member of the Ninth Georgia regiment, in which he served to the close of the war. Farming occupied his attention after the war till 1879, when he accepted the position of cashier in the banking house of Lewis Leonard & Co., at Hawkinsville, in which position he served with satis- faction till 1886. He then severed his connection with that institution to engage in the lumber business, which was offering great attractions along the E. T., Va. & Ga. railroad. Locating at Dempsey, Dodge Co., he operated successfully until 1888, being a member of the present firm. Mr. Evans was married in 1872 to Miss Ella, daughter of James Bohannon, one of Dodge county's most progressive and extensive planters, and they have had six children born to them, three sons and

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WORTH COUNTY SKETCHES.

three daughters. His two oldest sons, George S. and John L. B., are already members of the same firm, though hardly of legal age. He is a man of fine business ability and of excellent social qualities, and deserves the success he has attained.

JAMES NICHOLAS REDLEY, physician and druggist, of Warwick, Worth Co., Ga., is living in the county of his nativity, where he was born Nov. 10, 1850. His father, David Redley, was a prosperous planter, and for many years was one of Worth county's best citizens. He died in 1887. Dr. Redley began the study of his profession in 1870 with Dr. T. W. Tyson, of Worth county, after having laid a good foundation in the common schools. In 1874 he matriculated at the Louis- ville Medical college, where he took two courses of lectures. In 1879 he entered the Atlanta Medical college, from which he was graduated with honor the follow- ing year. Locating at Warwick, he has spent the years since then in attending to the ills of a large clientele of patrons. As a physician Dr. Redley is of the highest rating, his practice being among the best citizens of his community. Socially he and his interesting family occupy a leading position, and enjoy the regard of the whole country-side. The doctor affiliates with the masonic fraternity, and has filled nearly every office in the gift of the members of Fort Early lodge No. 226. Dr. Redley lost the mother of his two eldest children in 1887, Miss Annie B., daughter of J. M. Rouse, whom he married in 1880. He married his present estimable wife, Miss Sallie Rouse, in 1892, she being a sister of his former wife. To her has been born one child. The names of his children are: James Nicholas, born June 5, 1882; Minnie Pearl, born March 4, 1884, and Ruth, born April 15, 1893.

WILLIAM L. SIKES, physician, druggist and extensive planter, Sumner, Worth Co., Ga., son of Eli and Charlotte (Burch) Sikes, was born in Dooly county, Ga., Jan. 31, 1851. His parents were Georgia born, his father being a small farmer. His boyhood days were passed during the late war, in consequence of which his educational advantages were limited, and good teachers being scarce what education he did receive was defective. The first money he made was when a boy twelve years old he made wire-grass hats. He became quite an expert, the demand became very large, and he accumulated quite a sum of money-for a boy of his summers-but it all went with the Confederacy. When eighteen years of age he commenced farming for himself; but at the end of two years accepted a situation as a teacher in a public school. Inspired by an ambition for a different field of labor and usefulness, and a predilection for the profession of medicine he commenced its study. He taught school two years, pursued his medical studies awhile and in 1874 attended lectures in Louisville at the Kentucky Medical college, and in 1879 matriculated at Atlanta Medical college, from which he graduated with honor the same year. He located at Isabella, the county seat of Worth county, where he successfully practiced until 1885, when he moved to Sumner, and in addition to his practice established a drug store. Not satisfied with what he knew, notwithstanding his flattering success, and ambitious of higher professional attainments, he went to New York in 1889 and attended a post-graduate course at the celebrated Polyclinic school in that city. He then returned to Sumner, where he has since remained. He is one of the leading physicians of his section of the state, and enjoys a practice limited only by his powers of endurance. He ranks high with the profession for ability and skill. In addition to his extensive practice and his drug store he conducts a large farm with marked success and profit; in fact, aided by the advice and intelligent co- operation of his wife, he has become one of the largest planters in Worth county.

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As school commissioner of the county Dr. Sikes gives zealous attention to educa- tional advancement, in which he takes great interest. Public-spirited and progressive, he is active in all matters promotive of the development of the county's resources; financially he is one of its solidest and most substantial citizens, and socially ranks with the most select. Dr. Sikes was married Sept. 14, 1880, to Miss Georgia V., daughter of James N. and Catharine Ford, and to them five children have been born: William A., born July 23, 1882; Gussie E., born May 27, 1884; Robert E., born July 18, 1886; Benjamin F., born Sept. 10, 1888; and Gladys I., born March 4, 1894. Dr. Sikes is a member of Warrior lodge, Knights of Honor, No. 3463, of which he is guardian and dictator; is a master Mason, and worshipful master of Worth lodge, No. 194, of which he has filled all the subordinate offices. He has been a member of the Baptist church since 1887, of which, the same year, he was elected a deacon.

BENJAMIN J. SLOAN, of the firm of Alford & Sloan of Willingham, Worth Co., was born in Crawford county on May 16, 1851. He is the son of Joseph A. and Rachel (Jeffcott) Sloan, natives of South Carolina. His father died in 1859, leaving him at the tender age of eight years with only a mother's guiding hands. He early showed signs of that business judgment which has brought him success, and when only a mere boy toddling around the saw-mills, was working for wages, and having acquired a fondness for mechanics has devoted the most of his life to the different branches of mechanical pursuits. Mr. Sloan was educated in the common schools and in 1885 assisted in establishing the present business, which has been conducted since in a most prosperous way. Mr. Sloan was married in 1880 to Miss Mattie A., daughter of B. Johnston. To this union have been born four children: Hugh J., Addie L., Bessie and Marguerite. Mr. and Mrs. Sloan belong to the Methodist Episcopal church, and he is a Mason in high standing. Mr. Sloan is a progressive man with a keen business scent and is watching with much satisfaction the great development of Georgia.

JAMES H. TIPTON, a rising young attorney of Warwick, Worth Co., Ga., is a native of Worth county, born Oct. 28, 1872, his father, C. G. Tipton, being a prominent and successful planter, and for years clerk of the superior court and mayor of Sumner. The son was educated in the high school at Sumner, and in 1893 began the study of law under Col. T. R. Perry, at Sylvester, Ga. He passed a successful and creditable examination April 26, 1894, and immediately located for the practice of his chosen profession at Warwick, where he is rapidly gaining a foothold. His careful and studious habits, and well-known integrity of char- acter, and engaging social qualities augur for him a bright future.

JOSIAH S. AND JOHN H. WESTBERRY comprise the firm of J. S. West- berry & Bro., leading merchants of the town of Sylvester, Worth Co., Ga. Their father is Milton Westberry, a farmer and miller of the same county. Josiah S. was born Dec. II, 1852, in Appling county, Ga. He received a very limited education on account of the chaotic condition of the country at the time when he should have been in school. He early evinced an aptitude for business, and in 1868 began the manufacture of naval stores in Worth county. This he continued with varying success until 1890, when he, in company with Daniel McGirt started a mercantile business at Polen. The following year he and his brother began the present mercantile business, since which time the firm has remained as above. Josiah S. married Miss Sarah C. McPhaul, and is the father of four children: Florien, Malcolm, Willie H. and Katie H. He is a member of Worth lodge, No. 19I, A. F. & A. M., and of Jesup chapter. John H. Westberry was born Nov.

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II, 1863, in Wayne county, Ga. He began his business career as a clerk for W. H. McPhaul at Sylvester in 1883, and in 1891 became a member of the present firm. He married Miss Minnie, daughter of T. M. Coram of Worth county, and has two children: Louise L. and Gladys. He is also a member of Worth lodge of Masons, of which he has been senior warden two years, and belongs also to the chapter at Tifton. The Westberry brothers are regarded as shrewd and careful business men, and are in every sense worthy members of the community in which they live.

WILKES COUNTY.

IMBLE A. WILHEIT, merchant, Washington, Wilkes Co., Ga., son of K Thomas T. and Julia C. (Freeland) Wilheit, both parents natives of Anderson district, S. C., was born in that district, June 4, 1869, the first born of six children. While he was yet quite young his parents moved to Lincolnton, Lincoln Co., Ga., where, until he was fourteen years of age, he attended the schools of the town. His father having died, he had to leave school and begin the battle of life. Securing a clerkship with Mr. J. A. Benson, of Washington, he remained with him eight years, when himself and Gabriel Toombs Anthony (another clerk of Mr. Benson's) bought Mr. Benson's business and engaged in merchandising under the firm-name of Wilheit & Anthony. Being industrious, of unbending integrity, and possessing the sympathy and unquestioning confidence of the people, they have built up one of the largest businesses in Washington. It is but another illustration of what can be accomplished by pluck and push, coupled with deter- mination and well-directed energy. Alone, without money or influential friends, he has thus far successfully worked out life's problem. Mr. Wilheit was happily married Nov. 30, 1893, to Miss Kate Toombs Anthony, daughter of Edwin M. Anthony, Washington, Ga. He is a devoted member of the Methodist church, recognized as a true Christian, "always abounding in the work of the Lord." His Christian life, which it may reasonably be claimed is the foundation of his success, has won friends and applause, and affords an example well worthy of other young men.

COOKER LETCHIWO ENGLI 1955

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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 156

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