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 48

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 48

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WILKES COUNTY SKETCHES.

be dispensed with. Himself and one brother were the only children -- both are living. In 1876 he commenced the battle of life, and so far he has been successful, and placed himself in comfortable circumstances, gaining and retaining the respect and confidence of his fellow-citizens. Mr. Rhodes was married Jan. 9, 1879, to Miss Nora, daughter of Jonathan Smith, of Wilkes county, who has borne him ten children, four sons and six daughters, of whom one son is dead. He has been a consistent member of the Baptist church since 1886.

ROBERT A. SIMPSON, physician and surgeon, Washington, Wilkes Co., Ga., son of William W. and Jane (Powell) Simpson, both parents of Wilkes county, and the mother a daughter of Nelson Powell, of Wilkes county, was born in Sparta, Hancock Co., Feb. 1, 1859. His early education was conducted at home under a private tutor, his father and Hon. Linton Stephens having employed a tutor for their children. At the end of two years his mother died, and he was sent to live with his sister, Mrs. John A. Stephens, in Atlanta. He attended school there one year, and then, at the age of fifteen, entered the university of Georgia, Athens, as a sophomore, half advanced, and graduated in 1877 among the "first ten"-a particular distinction at that time-with the degree of A. B. From the university he went to Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and took a one year's course at Eastman's Business college. He next went to the university of Virginia, devoting two years to a plain academic course and the third to the study of medicine. He then went to New York city, took a course in the College of Physicians and Surgeons and graduated in 1883, winning the honor of being stationed in the Bellevue hospital eighteen months, the allotted term of service. Dr. Simpson then practiced his profession in New York city a year, after which he went to Europe and spent two years between Berlin, Vienna and Heidelberg, studying his profession. Returning to New York he practiced there again about a year, when the illness of his father called him home to Washington, which has been his home and the theater of his professional service. Dr. Simpson is one of the most highly educated members of his profession, as well as one of the most practical and skillful; and, being young, if he does not attain to exceptional eminence it will be for lack of ambition on his part. He is a man of cultivated musical taste, and this, with the courteousness of a cultured, refined gentleman, makes him a welcome guest in all social and literary circles. His home is of the old-time massive southern mansion type, handsomely finished and tastefully furnished, and surrounded by acres of garden-grounds, flower and vegetable, exciting admira- tion, and giving assurance in advance of the hearty welcome and generous hospi- tality which await the guest. Dr. Simpson is (in 1895) unmarried.

REDDING SIMS, farmer, Washington, Wilkes Co., Ga., son of John M. and Nancy (Wynn) Sims, was born in Oglethorpe county, Ga., Oct. 13, 1817, the seventh born of ten children, six boys and four girls. His father was of Ogle- thorpe county, and his mother was a daughter of George Wynn, of Wilkes county. He worked on the farm until he was twenty-one years of age, going to school at intervals as farm work permitted and school opportunities offered. Mr. Sims was married in Oglethorpe county, Oct. 25, 1838, to Miss Sarah, daughter of Jesse Spratlin of that county. After his marriage he moved to Mississippi and farmed there a year; he then went to Louisiana, where he cut cane to provide shelter until he could build a log house. Returning to Georgia he permanently settled in Wilkes county, where he has made farming his life pursuit. During the unpleasantness he was in the service of the state, and was assigned to the duty of furnishing provisions and looking after the prisoners, remaining in the county. Mr. Sims is a prominent member of the Baptist church, with which he has been connected since 1841.

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MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.

FRANK B. SIMS, farmer, Washington, Wilkes Co., Ga., son of Redding and Sarah (Spratlin) Sims, was born in Wilkes county, the youngest of a family of eleven children, Aug. 5, 1863. His grandfather, Jesse Spratlin, was a prominent farmer of Wilkes county. Mr. Sims was educated at the common schools of the county, and has always remained on the farm with his parents, as a companion and protector. He is a consistent member of the Baptist church, which he joined in 1886. To be a good farmer, a good citizen, and a consistent Christian fill the measure of his ambition.

H ENRY T. SLATON, farmer-merchant, Washington, Wilkes Co., Ga., son of William Slaton and Miss Frances, daughter of John Wright, all of Wilkes county, was born in Wilkes county March 18, 1835, the seventh of ten children. He worked on the farm when growing up, and received only such education as he could obtain when he could be spared. In 1856 he attended Richard's high school, at Thomson, Ga., and then returned home and worked on the farm until the war began. He enlisted in the Irvin guards (Capt. John T. Wingfield), Wash- ington, and proceeded to Richmond, Va., where his company became Company A, Ninth Georgia regiment. With his command he participated in all the principal battles in northern Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, and was included in the surrender at Appomattox. After the war he came back to his farm and set to work to recuperate. His labor has been rewarded fully up to his expectations. In connection with his farm he has carried on a general merchan- dise store, materially augmenting his resources. In 1870 Mr. Slaton was elected to represent Wilkes county in the general assembly-the first democrat elected after the war. He is a prominent and influential member of the Baptist church.

FRANK P. SLATON, farmer, Wilkes county, Ga., son of William and Frances (Wright) Slaton, was born in Wilkes county, the ninth of ten children, Sept. 12, 1841. He acquired what education he could, attending school at such intervals as he could be spared from farm work until he was eighteen years old. Then, in 1859, he attended the high school in Tuskegee, Ala., and the following year he returned home. About the same time, or soon afterward, his brother left home and enlisted in the Confederate army. His father being blind, and Frank the youngest, he was left at home to care for his father. Notwithstanding this, however, when, in 1863, the state called for more troops, he joined the army at Kennesaw Mountain, was with the forces in front of Sherman when he was "marching through Georgia," was in Savannah during the siege, afterward in South Carolina, and at the time of the surrender was in Augusta, Ga. He returned to the farm as soon as he was discharged, where he has since pursued the quiet life of a farmer, enjoying the comforts of domestic life and the cheering companionship of a family of promising children. Mr. Slaton was married in September, 1864, to Miss Cornelia, daughter of David Fouche, of Wilkes county, by whom he had four children, three boys and one girl. Their mother having died, he, in 1875, married Miss Victoria, daughter of Frank C. Armstrong, of Wilkes county, who has borne him five children, two boys and three girls, of whom two girls have died. Mr. Slaton is an active and useful member of the Baptist church.

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BRYAN COUNTY SKETCHES.

BRYAN COUNTY.

JAMES H. BLITCH, farmer and merchant (Bryan Postoffice), Eden, Effing- ham Co., Ga., son of William and Eliza Blitch, was born in Effingham county, May 21, 1841. His father was a large and prosperous farmer, and for many years was a justice of the inferior court of Effingham county. To him nine children were born: Emeline, wife of A. H. Smith, Valdosta, Ga .; Julia, deceased; John Gideon, ex-Confederate soldier, merchant and farmer, Odd Fellow and master Mason, married first Miss Georgia Ann Slater, and after her death married Miss Eliza Brantley; Willis M. L., ex-Confederate soldier, farmer and stock-dealer, and a member of the Baptist church, married Miss Ellen Kennedy; Henrietta P., wife of Isham M. Rinses of Bulloch county; Howard W., ex-Confederate soldier and a member of the Baptist church, married Miss America Cobb; William H., master Mason and member of the Baptist church, married Miss May Young; Laura M., deceased wife of John Rodgers of Tattnall county; James Henry, the subject of this sketch. Mr. Blitch was reared on the farm, and received his education mostly at the schools in Bryan county. In August, 1861, he enlisted under Capt. A. H. Smith, Twenty-fifth Georgia regiment, Col. Claude Wilson of Savannah, and was assigned to Gen. Stephens' (of South Carolina) command in Georgia. He was in the exciting and hard-fought campaign from Chattanooga to Atlanta, and in the battle of July 22, 1864, was captured and sent to Camp Chase, Ohio, where he was detained until March 4, 1865, when he was sent to Richmond, where he was furloughed for thirty days, but never returned to the army. That year he took charge of his father's farm, but the year following he went to Savannah, where he served some time on the police force. Retiring from that he engaged in speculation in stock and made considerable money. In 1869 he began a general merchandise business at Canoochee (now Belknap), Bryan county; and in January, 1875, removed thence to the place he now lives on in Bryan county. After farming five years he established a general mer- chandise store in connection with his farm, and since then has devoted his time and attention entirely to his farming and mercantile interests. He has been exceptionally successful in everything he has undertaken, has built up the largest business in the county, and has made a fortune. He has an elegant home, where he dispenses open-handed hospitality, and is preparing for an old age of ease and tranquillity. He has been on the board of jury commissioners, and was county commissioner until the office was abolished. Mr. Blitch was married Sept. 27, 1870, to Miss Sarah E. Groover- born May 6, 1849-of Bulloch county. They have had eleven children born to them: John Gordon, born Oct. 8, 1871, merchant, Statesboro, Ga., married Miss Jennie, daughter of John G. and Georgia Ann Blitch; James Daniel, born March 7, 1873, of the firm of J. H. Blitch & Son; Samuel E., born April 2, 1875; Charles and Eliza, born Dec. 25, 1877; Thomas Norwood, born Oct. 6, 1880; William H., born Aug. 25, 1882, died Sept. 4, 1884; Brooks, born Aug. 25, 1885; Bessie, born April 13, 1888; Brantley Denmark, born Sept. 30, 1890, and James Hudson, born March 13, 1893. Mr. Blitch is a master Mason and a member of the Baptist church, of which he has been deacon for many years.

MARTIN E. CARTER, merchant, Pembroke, Bryan Co., Ga., son of Samuel M. and Emeline Carter, was born near Thomson, McDuffie Co., Ga., Sept. 21, 1867. Mr. Carter's father was engaged nearly all his life in railroading, was II-22

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a very active member of the masonic fraternity, and prominent in the local lodge at Thomson, and a member of the Baptist church. His mother, who was a devoted and working member of the Baptist church, died Nov. 7, 1892. They were the parents of seven children: Joseph Bradford, Martin Edwin, William Thomas, deceased; Alice Eugenia, Charles Clifford, Minnie Lee, and Milford Pitts, deceased. Mr. Carter received only a primary education at the country schools, attending but one term at the high school in Thomson. He began as a farm laborer when fourteen years old, and followed this vocation for some time. He next accepted a situation at Gibson, Glascock Co., Ga., in the employ of the Augusta, Gibson & Sandersville, now the Augusta Southern railway. After remaining at Gibson for two years he went to Hephzibah, in Richmond county, in the employ of the same company, as section master. He remained there some- thing over a year, and then accepted a situation on the Dover & Statesboro railway, engaged in grading and construction of the same. Having finished this he entered the employ of the Central railroad and worked on lines belonging to that system in Georgia and South Carolina. He was next engaged in the con- struction of the Savannah & Western (S. A. M.) division of the Central railroad from Meldrim westward to Lyons, and afterward took charge as section master of the section at Pembroke, and held the position three and a half years. In the meantime he had opened a general merchandise business at Pembroke, which he conducted for about a year, and owing to the general increase and growth of this business he was compelled to resign his railroad position. For two years past he has managed the store himself, and is now doing as large, if not the largest, business of any store in Pembroke. He has succeeded beyond his most sanguine expectations. For one of his age he has had a long and varied practical experience, which evidently has been of great value to him. His business capabili- ties have been developed and bid fair to place bim well to the front in the near future. Mr. Carter was married in 1890 to Miss Jennie, daughter of William and Elizabeth Williams, of Jefferson county, Ga. Her father, now deceased, was a well-to-do and prominent farmer. Two children have blessed this union: Percy Roy, born Dec. 23, 1891, and an infant, which died. Mrs. Carter is a devoted and working member of the Baptist church, of which she has been a member since she was a twelve-year-old girl.

JAMES N. DUGGAR, farmer, Ellabell, Bryan Co., Ga., son of Nathaniel J. and Sarah Duggar, was born in Bryan county, Dec. 24, 1850. His father was born in 1813, and his mother in 1818, and both were consistent and devoted members of the Primitive Baptist church, of which for many years he was a deacon. He served the county as tax receiver, as tax collector, and also as a justice of the inferior court. To this worthy couple eleven children were born: Joseph J., farmer, married Miss Martha, daughter of Jefferson Butler; Wesley W., died in the Confederate service; Annie (deceased); Robert E., died soon after having served through the civil war; Martha E., wife of Leonard F. Cox, Bryan county; John (deceased); James Newton; Charles M., farmer, Bryan county; Harmon, dentist (deceased); Sarah Frances, wife of Pembroke W. Williams, law- yer, ex-senator of the First senatorial district; and Herschel, died soon after his graduation from the university of Georgia. Mr. Duggar was reared a farmer and received a very good country school education. At the age of eighteen years he began farming for himself, and farmed for two years, and then for two years followed the profession of a photographer. He then returned to farming, which he has since followed with much pleasure, good success and better profit. He has a splendid, productive farm, well improved, with substantial buildings. He was county surveyor for many years, and is now a member of the county board of edu-

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BRYAN COUNTY SKETCHES.

cation, of which he is chairman. Unambitious, not desiring office, he has been content with being considered one of the best of farmers, and a much appreciated neighbor and model citizen. Mr. Duggar was married Jan. 30, 1877, to Miss Elizabeth C .- born May 14, 1851-daughter of Dr. James H. and Catharine C. Johnson, of Liberty county, Ga., and to them eight children have been born: Charles Habersham, Annie E., James Harmon, Dawse Bradwell, Lena Marie, Maggie Estelle, and two which died in infancy. Mr. Duggar is a very ardent and enthusiastic master Mason, having been exalted to the royal arch degree. After having been made a master Mason in one lodge he left it so as to become a charter member of another, and thus aid in establishing it at the county seat; and is now an active member of a lodge near to where he lives.

ISRAEL HENRY HARN, stock-raiser, Clyde, Bryan Co., Ga., son of William and Elizabeth C. Harn, was born in Bryan county, July 13, 1836. His father was very popular and prominent, and was elected successively a justice of the peace, receiver of tax returns, and justice of the inferior court. He was a very ardent and enthusiastic supporter of the Confederate cause, and although fifty- two years old when the civil war began he enlisted and served gallantly until his death, which occurred Dec. 26, 1861. In early manhood he united with the Methodist church, but later in life changed his belief and became a member of the Missionary Baptist church This worthy couple raised a family of eight children: Israel Henry, Eliza Abigail, Sarah Emeline, Mary Elizabeth, Henrietta, William John David, Georgia Ann Rebecca and James Money. Mr. Harn was raised and educated in Bryan county. In May, 1862, he enlisted under Capt. Albert Smith, whose company belonged to a regiment commanded by Col. Claude Wilson, and of which Rufus E. Lester, now representative from the First congressional district of Georgia in congress was adjutant-general. He was a participant in all the bat- tles in which his command was engaged, was in the battles of Chickamauga and Missionary ridge, and in the many fought between these sanguinary fields and Atlanta and around that city-notably at Peachtree creek and that of July 22, 1864. During his service he was three times wounded-but not seriously and the latter part of the war was detailed as cook for his company. His brother William J. D. was also a soldier in the Confederate service, and the two brothers may be said to have fought side by side in support of the "lost cause." After the war Mr. Harn returned to Bryan county, which he reached in May, 1865, walk- ing from Camden, S. C., and engaged in stock-raising; and has about 350 sheep and a herd of sixty cattle, besides hogs for the Savannah market. He was county commissioner, but after holding the office two years resigned. He has been on the board of education two years, of which he is still a member. Mr. Harn was married Feb. 4, 1858, to Miss Martha Ann-born March 28, 1840-daughter of Seth and Amelia Stokes of Chatham county, Ga., by whom he has had nine children: Elizabeth Christiana, born July 7, 1861, wife of Newton Wise, Bryan county; Laura Vandalia, born April 30, 1866, died Jan. 7, 1873; Israel Sylvester, born Aug. 5, 1868, married Miss Mamie G. Ellaby; Sarah Jane, born April 6, 1871, married J. S. Hamons, Bryan county; Martha A., born Jan. 24, 1873, died Dec. 9, 1893; Stephen David, born Feb. 16, 1875; Dollie, born Sept. 24, 1877; Glenn, born Dec. 4, 1880; and one (the first born) who died in infancy. Mr. Harn is a working member of the Methodist church, of which he is a district steward and recording secretary.

JOSEPH J. HUSKE, merchant-farmer, Ellabell, Bryan Co., Ga., son of Leoni- das H. and Adaline Huske, was born in Fayetteville, N. C., Aug. 2, 1861. His father was a manufacturer of naval stores in both the Carolinas. He was a Knight

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MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.

of Pythias and a member of the Lutheran church, and a man of excellent business qualities and methods. He was twice married; by his first wife he had one child, Joseph J., and by his second marriage five children: William, James, Robert, and Lizzie, all in South Carolina; and Clarke (deceased). Mr. Huske was edu- cated in the public and private schools of Fayetteville and Wilmington, and then entered the office of the Richmond & Danville railway, where he remained two years. From there he went to Leesville, S. C., where he kept books for his father for four years. He then came to Bryan county, Ga., and kept books for four years for K. A. Smith, a gentleman from Virginia engaged in the manufacture of naval stores. He then embarked in a general merchandise business on his own account at Ellabell, and for the time he has been in business-something over three years-he has done remarkably well, exceeding his most sanguine expectations. He is also engaged in farming, and to these two interests gives his entire time and attention. The enterprise he has displayed, and the energy and judgment with which he conducts his affairs gives promise of splendid business success. Mr. Huske was married in November, 1884, to Miss Emma, daughter of James M. and Amanda Brannon of Bryan county, who died less than four years after, leav- ing two children-Meta and Leonidas Brannon. Subsequently he married Miss Ellen Brannon, a sister of his first wife. He is a master Mason, and a member at Eastover, Richland Co., S. C., of the Protestant Episcopal church.

WARREN C. JACKSON, naval stores manufacturer, Pembroke, Bryan Co., Ga., son of Allen and Catharine Jackson, was born in Robeson county, N. C., June 7, 1862. His father is a well-to-do farmer, and himself and wife are members of the Missionary Baptist church. Of seven children born to them six are living: Mary, wife of Murdock McInnis, Robeson county, N. C .; Duncan, farmer, same county, married Miss Amanda Parker; Warren C .; John, farmer, same county, married Miss Mary Harralson; Emily, wife of Irwin Agerton, farmer, South Carolina; Cora, makes her home with Warren C. Mr. Jackson was raised and educated at the common schools of the county of his birth. When eighteen years old he went to South Carolina and was employed in a store two years, then came to Screven county, Ga., and for thirteen years engaged in the manufacture of naval stores. Thence he went to Irwin county, and afterward to Bulloch, engaging in both counties in the same business as before. In 1889 he came to Bryan county, and under the firm name of McMillan, Jackson & Co. continued the manufacture of naval stores near where Pembroke stands. Their output the first year was eleven hundred barrels of spirits of turpentine and forty- five hundred barrels of rosin. Their average annual product has been 1,000 barrels of spirits and 4,500 barrels of rosin, and they give employment to seventy- five hands. Mr. Jackson is a very energetic and enterprising man, has been successful in all his business undertakings and has established an enviable reputa- tion for integrity and financial ability. Mr. Jackson was married in November, 1890, to Miss Sallie, daughter of Archy L. and Catharine McMillan of Robeson county, N. C., by whom he has had two children: Thomas Lawrence, born April, 1892, and Neill Spurgeon, born August, 1893. Mr. Jackson and his wife are members of the Missionary Baptist church, and he is a master Mason and treasurer of the local lodge.

WILLIAM LETFORD, manufacturer of naval stores, Pembroke, Bryan Co., Ga., son of William and Margaret Letford, was born in New Orleans, La., in 1839. Mr. Letford's father was killed while in the army during the war with Mexico, and his mother died when he was quite small. They were the parents

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BRYAN COUNTY SKETCHES.

of three children: William, John, now in Mobile, and James. Mr. Letford was educated in the common schools of Florida, and in 1862 enlisted in the Marion dragoons, Capt. William Owens. This company was afterward consolidated with others and organized as the Second Florida cavalry, under the command of Capt. William E. Chambers. Under the reorganization he was made second lieutenant of the company, was acting adjutant from the date of organization, and the latter part of the war was adjutant of the regiment. He participated in every battle in which his command bore a part except that of Natural Bridge, in Walton county, Fla., and surrendered to the United States forces at Baldwin, Fla. A part of the time he was under command of Gen. Joseph Finnegan, and a part of it under Peter Turney, the present governor of Tennessee. Soon after the war he went to Savannah, where for eight years he ran forty drays. He then left Savannah and established himself in the manufacture of naval stores in Bryan county, with headquarters at Pembroke. His average annual output was 3,000 barrels of spirits and rosin, and he gave employment to fifty hands. Mr. Letford was ener- getic and enthusiastic, a first-class business man, and took great interest in everything calculated to advance the material interests and promote the welfare of the county. He took great interest in the southern cause, and in everything that tended to keep alive the memory and perpetuate the story of the valor and hardships of his comrades. In 1889 he organized the Confederate Veterans' association of Bryan county, of which he was elected president and has continued to be since. Mr. Letford was married Sept. 6, 1862, to Miss Sarah, daughter of John Stewart, of Columbus, Ga., who died soon afterward, leaving no issue. In October, 1874, he was married to Mrs. Sarah E. (nee Macleod) King, daughter of William H. and Martha A. McLeod. Mrs. Letford's first husband enlisted as a private in the Confederate service, but was promoted to a colonelcy. Of the ninety-nine uniforms contributed to the Roswell troopers by the citizens of Ros- well she furnished thirty-three, and did everything she possibly could to promote the success of the Confederacy. Mr. and Mrs. Letford have had three children born to them: Sarah Stewart, William Donald and Mary B. Mr. Letford was a master Mason, and his wife and all his family are members of the Presbyterian church, of which he was an elder. Mr. Letford died at his home, Bushey Park, Aug. 8, 1895, after an illness of many months, during which time he exhibited all the courage and fortitude of the brave soldier, and all the patience and graces of his exalted Christian character.

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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 48

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