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 56
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business. In December, 1860, he entered the Confederate service as a private in the Washington Light infantry, which company was afterward assigned to the Twenty-fifth South Carolina infantry, called the Eutaw regiment. In 1863, he was transferred to the First North Carolina battalion of heavy artillery, and was detached for duty as assistant quartermaster of the post of Wilmington, with the rank of captain, and remained there until the fall of the city. He then followed Gen. Bragg, and laid down his arms at Chester, S. C., in April, 1865. Capt. Ellis was an active participant in the campaign around Charleston and other important engagements. After the close of hostilities, he went to Wilmington, N. C., and entered the commission business, which was continued until 1877, when he removed to Savannah, Ga., in order to enter the business he now conducts. In 1884, with W. U. Holt and J. R. Young, he founded the naval stores firm of Ellis, Holt & Co. Mr. Holt, dying in 1886, Mr. C. B. Parker, of McRae, Ga., was admitted to the firm, the name changing to Ellis, Young & Co. Mr. Ellis is now actively engaged in the naval stores and wholesale grocery business. He served as the first president of the Naval Stores exchange, and is vice-president of the Chatham bank. Ever alive to the best interests of the city of Savannah, he has been chosen as an alderman, and served a portion of his term. Mr. Ellis is a consistent member of the Baptist church. He was married in Savannah, in 1883, to Cate A., daughter of the late Milton J. Bucker, of that city, and they have five interesting children, two manly sons and three accomplished daughters.
JUDGE ROBERT FALLIGANT, of the eastern judicial circuit of Georgia, was born in the city of Savannah, Ga., Jan. 12, 1839. Maternally, he is descended from the Raifords, who were among the earliest settlers of the colony of North Carolina. His maternal great-grandfather, John Raiford, was a soldier in the war of the revolution, a commissioned officer in the Second North Carolina continental line, serving under Gen. Greene at the battle of Guilford court house, and settled after the independence of the colonies was declared in Jefferson county, Ga. His maternal grandfather was a soldier in the war of 1812. On his mother's side, he is
also descended from the Batteys, who were among the earliest settlers of the colony of Rhode Island. His paternal grandfather, who was a soldier under the first Napoleon, emigrated to Georgia after the battle of Waterloo, and settled in Savannah, Ga., in the year 1816. Robert Falligant, the distinguished subject of this sketch, was educated at the Cherokee Baptist college, then located at Cass- ville, in what is now Bartow county, Ga., and at the university of Virginia. While a student at the last-named institution, the civil war broke out, and he joined a company of college boys, known as the Southern Guards, and was one of the party that seized Harper's Ferry while the Virginia secession convention was in session. He remained in the army of northern Virginia until the close of hos- tilities, being in the artillery service during the whole of that memorable struggle and winning promotion to a lieutenancy after the battle of Antietam, by special order of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Returning to his home in Savannah after the surrender of the Confederate forces, he began the study of law in the office of that eminent jurist, William Law, and finally became his partner in the practice. Enter- ing at once upon a most successful career, he was chosen by his fellow-citizens as one of the representatives from the county of Chatham in the Georgia legislature, in 1882, and two years later as senator from the first district. He was appointed by Gov. Gordon, of Georgia, to the bench of the superior court, in 1889, to fill a vacancy, and, upon the expiration of his term of appointment, he was elected by the general assembly for the full term, and afterward for the succeeding term. For more than twenty years Judge Falligant has taken an active interest in the welfare of the volunteer militia of Georgia, and commanded for seventeen years the Ogle-
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thorpe Light infantry, of Savannah, one of the most prominent military organiza- tions of Georgia. As a soldier, he stands in the front rank; as a legislator, his course was marked by numerous instances of sagacity. He sustains a most desirable rank among the public speakers of the state, his gifts as an orator making ham a natural leader, a position fully justified by his course on the bench and at the bar.
CAPT. JOHN FLANNERY, a prominent banker and cotton factor of Savan- nah, Ga., was born in Nenagh, county Tipperary, Ireland, Nov. 24, 1835. While in his sixteenth year he came to America, accompanied by his father, land- ing at Charleston, S. C., in October, 1851. He remained in Charleston until April, 1852, when he went to Atlanta, Ga., to accept a situation in a dry-goods store. In August, of the same year, he returned to Charleston, where he remained until December, 1854, as clerk in the dry-goods business. In December, 1854, he removed to Savannah, Ga., to accept a position in a dry-goods establishment, with which he remained until the fall of 1855. The next three years finds him suc- cessively as bookkeeper in the wholesale grocery, and the paint, sash and blind business. In October, 1858, he decided to try the cotton business, and secured a situation as account sales clerk with the house of Evans, Harris & Co., cotton factors. He was promoted to bookkeeper the following year, and continued in this position until May, 1861, when he entered the service of the Confederate states as junior lieutenant of the Irish Jasper Greens, First volunteer regiment of Georgia, of Savannah, in which company he had previously served the state at Fort Pulaski as a non-commissioned officer. In January, 1862, he was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant, and the following October was made captain of the company, in which capacity he continued for the remainder of the war. His com- pany served as heavy artillery on the coast of Georgia and South Carolina up to May, 1864-he being in command of Lee battery, Savannah river, for over a year prior to that time-when he joined the army of Gen. Joe Johnston near Dallas, Ga. He was an active participant in several skirmishes between that point and Lovejoy's Station, Ga., and also in the battle of Jonesborough, which was prac- tically the last of the Atlanta campaign. He was with Hood's army in the dis- astrous Tennessee campaign, but was not present at either the battles of Franklin or Nashville, being on detached service with his command when these battles were being fought. As a result of the exposure and hardships of this campaign, he was taken sick at Corinth, Miss., in January, 1865, which practically ended his active connection with the army for the remainder of the war. He was paroled at Augusta, Ga., in May, 1865, and returned to Savannah during the same month. Being an expert bookkeeper, he was soon employed to go to Hilton Head, S. C., to adjust the books of a prominent concern, which was closing up its business at that point. Returning to Savannah in July, 1865, he again entered the cotton business, having formed a copartnership with L. J. Guilmartin and E. W. Drum- mard, under the style of L. J. Guilmartin & Co. In June, 1877, this firm was dissolved, Capt. Flannery purchasing all of its assets, and, with John L. Johnson, formed the firm since known as John Flannery & Co. Capt. Flannery takes very little active interest in politics, though ever watchful of local affairs. He served from 1879 to 1889 as chairman of the sinking fund commission of the city of Savannah. He is connected with a number of enterprises of importance to Sa- vannah, and has served as a director of the Southern Bank of the State of Georgia since its foundation in 1870, and as its president since 1881. He was re-elected as captain of the Irish Jasper Greens, on the reorganization of the Georgia volunteers, in May, 1872, and still holds that position. He is a consistent member of the Catholic church. His marriage, in April, 1867, to Mary E. Norton, has proved a
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source of unalloyed domestic felicity, and has been blessed by the birth of six children, of whom only two are now in life, viz .: Katie M., the wife of Raphael T. Semmes, of Atlanta, Ga., and John McMahon Flannery, lately graduated in the class of civil engineering at the university of Notre Dame, Indiana.
WALLACE W. FRASER, a leading attorney of Savannah, Ga., was born in Hinesville, Liberty Co., Ga., May 23, 1857, and is a son of Simon A. and Mary WV. (Bacon) Fraser, both of whom were Scotch Presbyterians. Simon A. Fraser was a native American, but at the age of ten years went to Inverness, Scotland, which was the home of his ancestors before they emigrated to America, and there he attended the schools for nine years. He was a large planter and slave owner, and at one time represented the county of Liberty in the Georgia legislature. Mary W. (Bacon) Fraser was of Puritan ancestry, natives of Dorchester, Mass., who settled in Dorchester, S. C., and later in Dorchester, Ga. Wallace W. Frazer was educated at the Bradwell institute, Liberty county, Ga., and afterward took a special course in the classics at the university of Georgia, Athens, from which institution he was graduated in law in 1877. He engaged in the practice of his profession for the two years next after his graduation in Liberty county, Ga., and the following two years at Darien, McIntosh Co., Ga. In Octo- ber, 1881, he located in Savannah, and has since been actively and successfully engaged in practice there. In November, 1888, he was elected solicitor-general of the eastern judicial circuit of Georgia, to fill the unexpired term of Hon. Fleming Grantland Du Bignon, was re-elected for the full term of four years, begin- ning January, 1889, and re-elected for four years from January, 1892. Mr. Fraser was happily married on Sept. 7, 1887, to Miss Eva M. Lawson, of Waco, Texas, and that union has been blessed by the birth of two sons and a daughter, viz .: Wallace W., Jr., Rachel Lawson, and Howard Lawson. In politics he is a demo- crat and has been a very active member of the party, having been a delegate from the county of Chatham to the last two state conventions. He is talented as a public speaker and is an able advocate. Mr. Fraser is a master Mason in Landrum lodge, a member of Acorn lodge, I. O. O. F., a member of the Savannah volunteer guards and of the Oglethorpe club, of Savannah.
COL. W. W. GORDON, commanding First regiment of cavalry, Georgia vol- unteers, was born in the city of Savannah, Ga., on Oct. 14, 1834. Until the age of seven years he resided in the city of his birth, then attended school in Morristown, N. J., until 1846, at that time going to an academy at New Haven, Conn., where he remained one year. He next attended school in White Plains, N. Y., and in 1850 entered Yale university, New Haven, Conn., from which institution he was graduated in 1854. Returning to Savannah, he engaged as clerk to a cotton firm of that city, and in 1856 became a member of the firm. In 1861 he enlisted as a private in the army of the Confederate states, was wounded at the battle of Lovejoy Station, was promoted to captain, and retired on April 26, 1865. After the close of hostilities he resumed the cotton business at Savannah, in which he has been very successful. Col. Gordon was elected a member of the general assembly of Georgia from the county of Chatham in 1884, was re-elected in 1886, and again in 1888. He was defeated by a small majority for the demo- cratic nomination for congressman of the first district of Georgia in 1886. Col. Gordon was very happily married in 1857 to Miss Nellie Kinzie, of Chicago, Ill., and that union has been blessed by the birth of two sons and four daughters, all of whom are now in life except one daughter, Miss Alice. The colonel is not a member of any church organization. He occupies a prominent place in the masonic circles of Savannah.
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GEORGE S. HAINES, postmaster at Savannah, Ga., was born in the city of Augusta, Ga., in September, 1847. He is the grandson of the late Hon. John Schley, judge of the superior court of the Augusta circuit; grand-nephew of the late Hon. Wm. Schley, governor of the state of Georgia; grand-nephew of the late Hon. Geo. Schley, postmaster at Savannah, Ga., for thirty years, and nephew of the late Hon. Wm. Schley, judge of the superior court of the eastern judicial . circuit of Georgia. He was reared and educated in the schools of Augusta, and at the commencement of the war between the states, being too young to enter the regular army, he enlisted in the Georgia state troops, and did his duty as faithfully in that memorable struggle as he has since done in time of peace. He was a frequent visitor to the city of Savannah prior to taking up his permanent residence there, and most of his life has been spent in that city. Mr. Haines began his business life with the Central railroad of Georgia, in whose service he remained three years. He then went to Robert Habersham's Son & Co., rice factors, and was with that firm three years. He was next in charge of the wharf of the Empire line of steamships, Wallace Cumming & Co. being agents, then being elected superintendent of the Savannah, Skidaway & Seaboard railroad, serving in that capacity six years. He then went to the Atlantic & Gulf railroad, as general ticket agent and paymaster. When that road was merged into the Savannah, Florida & Western, Mr. Haines became assistant general freight and passenger agent, remaining in that position until October, 1879, when he resigned and entered the brokerage business. In 1884 he and W. H. Daniel formed a partner- ship in the insurance business, which was continued until April 1, 1891, when it was dissolved, each continuing in the insurance business alone. He is a very public spirited citizen, and has always been ready to do his share in advancing the best interests of the city of Savannah, for the benefit of all the people thereof. Being a man of the highest integrity, modest and unassuming, he has probably more strong personal friends than any man in that city. Marked characteristics of this gentleman are strict honesty, a veracity which can never be questioned, absolute fidelity to all trusts committed to him, and a devotion to his friends which is without limit. Of course, such a man is possessed of a warm heart, and is courteous and affable to those about him. He has never sought public office, until recently, though he has for some years taken an active interest in city matters. In January, 1887, he was elected a member of the city council of Savannah, and was re-elected three times, serving in all eight years, with the exception of about a month or two, when he resigned and retired, only to be called back to fill a vacancy in that body. As a member of the council he took high rank, bringing to the discharge of his duties untiring energy and a zealous desire to round off his work as it should be. On May 10, 1894, he tendered his resignation as a member of the council, having been nominated by President Cleveland as postmaster at Savannah. Being a reformer by nature, when he sought the office of postmaster his application was largely endorsed by the leading business people of Savannah. It is generally conceded that the president could not have made a better appointment, Mr. Haines now having brought every department of the service up to a high grade of administration. He is very prom- inent in the masonic circles of Savannah, having filled several important offices in that order. He was happily married to a daughter of Hon. George S. Owens, of Savannah, a lady of rare culture and charming character, and they have several children. His home is a happy one, and he is a devoted husband and father.
WILLIAM DEARING HARDEN, very prominent in the legal circles of Savannah, Ga., was born in Athens, Clarke Co., Ga., on July 15, 1837. His parents removing to Savannah when he was about three months of age, he has
W. D. HARDEN.
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resided in that city continuously since. His father was Thomas Hutson Harden, son of Thomas Hutson Harden and Matilda A. Baker, and grandson of Col. William Harden, senior colonel of Marion's command, and grandson of Col. John Baker, of Liberty county, Ga., for whom Baker county was named. His mother was Margaret E. Dearing, daughter of William Dearing and Eliza J. Pasteur, and granddaughter of Capt. John Dearing, of Fauquier county, Va., and of Lieut .- Col. Thomas Pasteur, of North Carolina. Thus four of his great-grandfathers were officers of the continental army during the war of the revolution, each being a native of a different state, viz .: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. The following extract from the list of members of the society of the Sons of the Revolution in the state of Georgia will show the lineage of Judge Harden: "Harden, William Dearing (Insignia No. 797), great-grandson of William Harden (1743-1785), appointed captain of Beaufort artillery, South Carolina, March, 1776; in command of Fort Lyttleton for fourteen months; colonel of militia under Gen. Stephen Bull; attacked British at Wiggins Hill, 1779; colonel in Marion's command, 1780-1781; in several skirmishes with British, 1781; cap- tured Fort Balfour with about 100 prisoners, April 12, 1781; at siege and capture of Fort Galphin, 1781; in active service until end of war. Also great-grandson of John Baker (17-1792), member of committee appointed by convention at Savan- nah, Ga., July 20, 1774, to prepare resolutions expressive of the sentiments and determination of the people of that province in regard to the Boston port bill; member of provincial congress of Georgia, 1775-1777; member of Georgia council of safety, 1776; colonel commanding a regiment of militia of Liberty county, Ga., 1775-1783; wounded in a skirmish at Bulltown Swamp, Nov. 19, 1778; defeated Capt. Goldsmith at White House, Ga., June 28, 1779; participated in the capture of Augusta, Ga., May-June, 1781. Also, great-grandson of Thomas Pasteur (17- 1806), ensign Fourth North Carolina regiment of infantry of the continental line, Dec. 29, 1777; transferred to the First North Carolina regiment, Dec. 29, 1778; promoted to lieutenant First North Carolina regiment, Nov. 20, 1779; paymaster, April 10, 1782; honorably retired Nov. 15, 1783; lieutenant First regiment United States infantry, June 3, 1790; captain First regiment United States infantry, March 5, 1792; Major Second regiment United States infantry, April II, 1803; died in service, July 29, 1806; original member North Carolina Society of the Cincinnati." William Dearing Harden was reared in the city of Savannah and educated at private schools, being prepared for college by the late Henry K. Preston. He entered the junior class of Princeton, N. J., in 1854, and two years later was graduated from that institution, at nineteen years of age. Returning to Savannah he read law under John E. Ward, George S. Owens and Charles C. Jones, Jr., and was admitted to the bar in 1858. Late in 1860, just prior to the secession of Georgia, he went with a detachment of the Chatham artillery, which he had joined for that purpose, and took charge of Fort Pulaski "for whom it may concern," using no flag, Georgia having seceded on Saturday, Jan. 19, 1861; on Sunday, Jan. 20, he was one of three men who raised the flag of Georgia over that fort. His subsequent career in the service of the Confederate states was as follows: He was assigned to duty as acting ordnance officer of Fort Pulaski and Tybee island, and mounted a number of guns; was mustered, with the Chatham artillery, into the Confederate service on July 31, 1861, and then detailed as acting lieutenant and ordnance officer of Brig .- Gen. H. W. Mercer's command, extending from Savannah to Florida, and was sent to Blackbeard, St. Simon's, Jekyl and Cumberland islands to complete the batteries, build magazines, mount the guns and drill the men in the use of heavy artillery; went with Gen. Mercer to Brunswick, and returned with him to Savannah. He was commissioned first
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lieutenant in the provisional army of the Confederate states on July 19, 1862, and assigned to duty by the war department as ordnance officer of the military district of Georgia. On July 15, 1863, he was commissioned as captain and ordered to report to Gen. Beauregard for duty on Morris island, Charleston harbor; inspected Morris island and James island, the Charleston arsenal, and then made a tour of all the arsenals in South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama to secure material for the defense of Charleston. Having performed thesc duties he was again appointed ordnance officer of the district of Georgia. Gen. Mercer having been ordered to north Georgia, Capt. Harden notified Col. Oladowski, chief of ordnance of the army of Tennessee, that he declined to further waive his rank, and was accord- ingly assigned as ordnance officer of Maj .- Gen. E. C. Walthall's division on Aug 13, 1864, and on Oct. 22, 1864, was verbally ordered by Lieut-Gen. A. P. Stewart to report as acting chief ordnance officer of his corps, and acted in that capacity throughout Hood's campaign in Tennessee. After that campaign had closed he was given a brief leave of absence, the only one he had during the war, but soon rejoining the army under Gen. Joseph E. Johnston in North Carolina, he was, at tlie request of the ordnance bureau at Richmond, assigned by the war department permanent chief ordnance officer of Stewart's corps with the rank, pay and emoluments of lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, and was paroled at Greensboro, N. C. He was present at all the battles fought by the army from Dalton to Atlanta, to Huntsville, and Tuscumbia, and to Columbia, Franklin, and Nashville, Tenn., and back to the Tennessee river, it being almost a continuous action. After the close of hostilities, Col. Harden resumed the practice of law in Savannah, and, in 1878, was made corporation attorney of the city and judge of the city court. He held the attorneyship for two years and the judgeship for fourteen years. With what signal success he filled the latter position may be gathered from various expressions of the supreme court of Georgia and from the opinions of the various members of the bar. Upon retiring from the bench, Jan. 20, 1892, Judge Harden was tendered a complimentary banquet by the entire bar of Savannah, and there- upon resumed the practice of law in that city, in which he is now engaged. He has been an officer of the Georgia Historical society for the past twenty-four years, is a fellow of the American Geographical society, of the Theosophical society, corresponding member of the American Ethnological society, and member of the American branch of the society for Psychological Research. He is also the first vice-president of the Sons of the Revolution in Georgia, and an hereditary member of the distinguished Society of the Cincinnati, and of the Veteran Corps of Artillery in war of 1812, in right of his grandfather, Thomas Hutson Harden, lieutenant- colonel and division inspector with Gen. John McIntosh; also one of the two trustees allotted to the southern states of the American college of Musicians, chartered by act of congress. Among the more prominent social organizations he is a member of the Manhattan club, the Reform club and the Southern society, all of New York city, and the Oglethorpe club and the Guards club of Savannah. He still retains his connection with the time-honored Chatham artillery, not actively, but as an honorary member. Judge Harden is the author of An Inquiry into the Truth of Dogmatic Christianity; Comprising a Discussion with a Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church, published by G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, and London, 1893, which has received high encomiums on both sides of the Atlantic. The book is anti-dogmatic but not anti-religious. Its character may be judged of by the following published extracts: "The style of the discussion is as courteous as the learning is profound-no flippant infidelities deface its pages. The obvious objections to the progress of religion are argued as reverently as the archbishop endeavors to refute them. The manner seems like the earnest conversation of two
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eloquent and educated gentlemen of equal piety and ability, whose object is not to controvert each other, but to get at the real truth of the serious subject about which they intelligently differ."-Stephen Fiske, Esq., in New York "Spirit of the Times." "We heartily wish our time permitted a full review and analysis of this book. It is good to read it, good to study it, good for the heart and good for the mind, and we commend it to the reading public, and here close its pages with no little gratitude to the author for the hours in which he has caught us up out of the heat and toil of current work and refreshed us by glimpses of a higher life, of loftier aims, and of more lasting pleasures."-D. H. C., in "Atlanta Constitution." "I have read your book through with the closest possible attention.
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