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 63

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 63

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WILLIAM C. LEVERETT, retired planter, Machen, Jasper Co., Ga., son of Durrell and Nancy (Cody) Leverett, was born in Putnam county, Ga., March 15, 1818. His parents-of French descent-were born respectively in Wilkes and Lincoln counties, Ga., but were married in Putnam county. In 1821 they moved to Jasper county, where they reared a family of nine children: Ann, deceased wife of John Turk; Eliza, widow of James Wright, Eatonton, Ga .; Edward B., deceased; Frank, deceased; Clayton, deceased; Thomas, Jasper county; Catharine, wife of James Lancaster, Putnam county; Martha, widow of Thomas Leverett, Jasper county; Nancy J., maiden lady, Eatonton, Ga. It was a source of pride to Mr. Leverett to give his children a good education, which he did. He was a quiet, unostentatious man, yet very energetic and thrifty; indifferent to public life, but

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manifested a life-time devotion to the doctrines and practices of the Primitive Baptist church. The old homestead is situated four miles east of Machen, and here our subject's mother died in 1858, aged sixty-one, and his father in 1878, in the nine- ty-first year.of his age. Mr. Leverett's life occupation has been that of a planter and farmer. When he became of age he bought a small farm, which forms a part of the magnificent property he now owns. To be recognized as a good farmer, and to rear his children properly and to start them right on the voyage of life, has been his chiefest ambition, so he has been content to live and fully enjoy the quiet life of a farmer. During the war, however, though exempt by age, he did excellent and valuable service for the Confederate government as a purchasing and collecting agent. His territory was extensive, the number of men under his supervision was large, and his duties were onerous and exacting; the responsibility, also, was very great. Yet he discharged his duties promptly, with scrupulous care, and to the entire satisfaction of the authorities. He has been eminently successful in his farming business, and he now owns about 3,000 acres of excellent land, situated principally between Machen and Monticello, and now, in his ripe old age, surrounded by an intelligent and loving family, he is enjoying the well-earned fruits of an industrious and well-spent life. Mr. Leverett was married four times. His first marriage was in Jasper county, Feb. 6, 1839, to Miss Sarah, daughter of Benja- min Wade, who bore him one child, Harriet, wife of William Spearman, Jasper county. Mrs. Leverett died in 1841, and the following year Mr. Leverett was mar- ried in Putnam county to Mrs. Herndon (nee Hearn), by whom he had five children, three of whom are living: Frank, ex-United States marshal, southern district of Georgia, Macon; Sarah, wife of Eli Pounds, Jackson, Ga., and Elizabeth, wife of B. H. Sanders, Cleburne, Tex. This wife died in 1855, and he afterward married, in Jasper county, Mrs. Jane Smith (nee Winfrey), who bore him one child, Alice, wife of Dr. J. H. Bullard, Machen. Having lost this wife by death, Mr. Leverett was married in Putnam county, March 22, 1893, to Fannie, daughter of Irby Scott, who is comforting him in his old age. Mr. Leverett is a democrat, a royal arch Mason, and has been an ardent and exemplary member of the Methodist church for fifty-four years, of which he is a trustee. No person or family holds a higher position or is more influential in the locality than Mr. Leverett and his family.

W. D. MADDUX, physician and surgeon, Monticello, Jasper Co., Ga., son of John and Sarah (Betts) Maddux, was born in Jasper county, Aug. 21, 1814. His grandparents on both sides, Joseph Maddux and Abram Betts, were natives of Maryland, and the two families migrated to Georgia in the latter part of the last cen- tury and settled in Hancock county. Subsequently Mr. Maddux moved to Put- nam and Mr. Betts to Jasper county. Mr. Maddux's father was born in Maryland, but was reared mainly in Hancock county. He was married in 1804, and in 1808 moved to Jasper county and settled four miles west of Monticello, on the road to Indian Springs, where he passed the remainder of his days. He was a plain, prosperous planter, no politician, but firm in his political convictions, and voted the whig ticket. Dr. Maddux's parents reared eleven children to maturity, of whom three only survive: James L., Flovilla, Ga .; W. D., the subject of this sketch, and Simeon H., planter, Jasper county. His father died in 1868, aged eighty-seven years, and his mother in 1872 at the same age. Dr. Maddux received a good edu- cation, and remained at the old homestead until he was twenty-five years old. He then read medicine under Dr. Edward A. Broadus, an eminent physician of that time and locality, and afterward attended a course of lectures at Jefferson Medical college, Philadelphia. The next year he attended lectures at the medical depart- ment of the university of New York, whence he graduated in 1842. Dr. Maddux located at once at Monticello, where he has almost continuously resided ever since;

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entered upon the successful practice of his profession and established a patronage which rapidly grew in volume and value. During the war he did an immense amount of gratuitous practice for the families of the soldiers. Advancing years have compelled him to withdraw gradually from the practice. He has been the leading physician of Monticello and a wide sweep of country around for half a century, is widely known and much beloved. Dr. Maddux was happily married in Monticello in 1852 to Miss Araminta, daughter of Thomas B. Comer, who was born and reared in Jasper county, and by whom he had two daughters: Jennie, wife of A. M. Robinson, Atlanta, Ga .; and Kate, wife of David R. Glover, living with her father. Mrs. Maddux died Jan. 23, 1884. Dr. Maddux was a member of the old whig party and a Union man until the state seceded; since then he has been a democrat. Himself and all his family are members of the Methodist church.

WILLIAM J. M. PRESTON, planter, Broughtonville, Jasper Co., Ga., son of William H. and Martha (McDowell) Preston, was born in Jasper county, Jan. 25, 1838. His father was born in South Carolina, and when he was ten years old (1812) came to Georgia with his family, which settled on Murder creek, Jasper Co., seven miles north of Monticello. He married in 1828, and had nine children born to him: Charles T., deceased; Salina, deceased; Mary, wife of Dr. Cheney, Rae, Tex .; John R., deceased; Virginia, deceased; William J. M., the subject of this sketch; Joseph W., lawyer, Macon, Ga .; Henry H., member of Com- pany G, Fourth Georgia regiment, killed at Malvern Hill, and Martha, deceased. Mr. Preston's father was a thrifty, prosperous planter, highly esteemed for his conscientious, upright character and great hospitality, unstintedly entertaining, not only his friends, but the stranger that entered his gates. Before the war he repre- sented Jasper county in the general assembly. Mr. Preston's mother died May I, 1878, and his father died March 16, 1892, in his ninetieth year. Both were devoted and exemplary members of the Baptist church. Mr. Preston was reared on the plantation and received an excellent education. About the time he became of age he taught school a while, and then commenced the study of medicine. This was interrupted by the outbreak of the war between the states. He enlisted in Com- pany C, Fourteenth Georgia regiment, of which he was made orderly sergeant, and reached the battlefield just after the first Manassas battle. He was in all the im- portant battles fought by the army of northern Virginia, and having been promoted to the rank of first lieutenant, commanded in the battles of Chancellorsville and the Wilderness. Coming home from the war he returned to the plantation and began the work of reconstruction. For a number of years between 1870-80 he was justice of the peace in the Shady Dale district; in 1881 he was elected sheriff of the county, and was re-elected for two years in 1883; was mayor of Monticello in 1885-6, and in 1886 was elected to represent the county in the general assembly, in which body he served on the committees on finance, education and asylum. Capt. Preston's continuous military and political advancement indicate a general popular recognition of his administrative capacity and his fidelity to public trusts, and demonstrates his personal popularity. Capt. Preston was married in Jasper county, Dec. 18, 1866, to Miss Angeline N. Pugh, who died childless Nov. 15, 1880. On Nov. 24, 1886, in Jasper county, he was married to Miss Elizabeth C. Malone. Capt. Preston is personally a most affable and genial gentleman; himself and wife are cultured people and dispense a lavish hospitality. He is a "solid" democrat and a member of the Baptist church.

[ T. WYATT, planter, Farrar, Jasper Co., Ga., only child of W. H. and Cynthia (Winfrey) Wyatt, was born in Jasper county, Sept. 28, 1835. His great-grand- father, John Wyatt, was a citizen of Virginia during the revolutionary war, a

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soldier in the patriot army, migrated to Georgia, and settled in Clarke county in 1802. He afterward moved to Butts county, Ga., where he lived until his death, which occurred at the advanced age of ninety-nine years. Mr. Wyatt's grandfather, Thomas Wyatt, was born and reared in Clarke county, whence, after his marriage to Miss Nancy Wootten, he moved and settled near the line of Jasper and Morgan counties, where he reared his family, and died in 1857. His children were: John W., planter, Jasper county, the oldest living member of the family; William H., father of the subject of this sketch; Nancy A .; De Graffenreid, and Tabitha. Mr. Wyatt's father was born in Morgan county in 1812, but lived all his life in Jasper county. He was a progressive planter, energetic, shrewd and thrifty, and when he died had acquired one of the largest properties in his section. Having a taste for politics his democratic friends elected him to represent the county in the general assembly thirteen continuous terms. "Ike Tom" Wyatt, as he is familiarly called by his appreciative friends, was reared a plain farmer, and it pleases him to regard the calling as one of the noblest and most dignified a man can follow. He is living in the house in which he was born, and is engaged in the same pursuit his ancestors were engaged in for generations before him. His highest ambition is to be regarded a good farmer, a man of highest integrity, and to be honored by his neighbors as a citizen of unquestioned honor and uprightness of character. Dur- ing the late war he served three months in Virginia in the Fourth Georgia regiment, and then came home. He re-enlisted in the Sixteenth Georgia battalion of cavalry, which saw much arduous and exacting service under the great Confederate raider, Gen. John H. Morgan. Ever since the war he has been a notary public and ex- officio justice of the peace. Mr. Wyatt was married in Monroe county, Ga., to Miss Mary A. Sullivan, born and reared in Monroe county, daughter of Hilliard Sullivan, a North Carolinian by birth. This union has been blessed with two children: William H., planter, near the homestead, and Cynthia, widow of John Christian, living with the old folks at home. Mr. Wyatt is an uncompromising democrat, a royal arch Mason, having been accepted and entered the same day he became of full age, and is an ardent, exemplary member of the Methodist church.

JEFFERSON COUNTY.

HENRY LAURENS BATTLE, physician and surgeon, Wadley, Jefferson Co., Ga., son of Rev. Jesse B. and Martha (Rabun) Battle, was born in Hancock county, Ga. Dr. Battle's father was born in Hancock county in 1791, was a Baptist minister of note, preached the gospel sixty-six years, died in 1873, aged eighty-two years, and was buried on a spot in Hancock county where are buried six generations of the family. His mother, the eldest daughter of Gov. William Rabun, was an exemplary member of the Baptist church, and an earnest Christian worker. She died in 1854, in the sixtieth year of her age. Nine children blessed the union of this devoted Christian couple: Mary, Sarah, Amanda, William, Milton, John, Henry, Leander and Jesse. Only two of these are living- John, who lives in Laurens county, and Henry Laurens. Dr. Battle received his early and preparatory education at Powelton (Hancock county) academy, and then entered Mercer university in 1844, but did not graduate. After leaving the university he studied medicine and then attended lectures at the medical college

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in Charleston, from which he graduated in 1848. He soon afterward located in Sparta, Hancock Co., where he remained until 1858, when he moved to Jefferson county, which has since been his home. He has lived in Wadley ever since the town was located, has secured a very large and valuable practice, and accumulated large property. He is recognized as a physician of superior attainments and skill, and is held in affectionate regard by his hundreds of patrons. He has been the local surgeon of the Central Railway company since that office was created. Although advanced in age, and has been practicing his profession forty-seven years, he is still in active service, his calls covering miles around him. He takes great interest in politics, but is no politician, his professional duties taking all his time. Notwithstanding this, however, he was elected a justice of the inferior court and in 1874 was elected to represent the county in the general assembly, where he had the bill passed incorporating the town of Wadley. He is a member of the State Medical association. Dr. Battle was married in October, 1848, to Miss Mary E., daughter of Thomas Pierce, who died in 1849, leaving one child, Jesse B., now in Texas. In 1852 he married Miss Anna Chambliss of Brunswick county, Va., by whom he has had five children. One died young; those living are: Leander, in Florida; Henry L., in Texas; Mrs. Lena M. Battle, Wadley, and George Chambliss. Dr. Battle is a master Mason, and himself and family, except the two youngest children, are members of the Baptist church, of which he has been a deacon forty years.

ROBERT L. GAMBLE. One of the best known, and most distinguished and honored of names in middle eastern Georgia in the second quarter of this century was that borne by liim whose sketch is now presented. Roger Lawson Gamble, judge of the middle circuit of Georgia, Louisville, Jefferson Co., Ga., is a son of Hon. Roger Lawson and Martha Rosanna (Gobert) Gamble, and was born in Jefferson county, May 20, 1851. Joseph Gamble, the paternal great-great- grandfather of Judge Gamble, came from Virginia and settled in what is now Jefferson county. His grandfather attained to state-wide eminence as a member of the legal profession, and was one of the most popular political leaders of his generation. He was a member of congress in 1833-35, and then coming to the front again in the ever memorable campaign of 1840 he was elected (the elections then were by general ticket) to the congress of 1841-43. Subsequently he was elected judge of the middle circuit and held the office one or more terms, sustaining his well-earned reputation at the bar and in congress. He was pre-eminently successful in his profession and otherwise, and left a large estate. Judge Gamble's father was a gentleman of liberal education and great diversity of knowledge. He never entered public life, but devoted himself to his large planting interests and to his family. To Col. and Mrs. Gamble six children were born: Roger L., the subject of this sketch; Ruth L., deceased; Marguerite Eula, wife of George K. Chafee, Aiken, S. C .; Millard Gobert, who conducts large merchandise and planting interests, and married Miss Fannie Hunter of Louisville; Philip L., a large farmer, who married Miss Clarissa Baker of Sparta, Hancock Co., Ga .; and Ella, wife of Dr. W. H. Doughty of Augusta, one of the most eminent physicians in the state. Judge Gamble enjoyed exceptionally good educational advantages; first at the excellent schools of Louisville; then was a pupil in Augusta, respec- tively under Profs. Hard and Pelot; next under ex-Gov. Northen, then teaching at Mt. Zion, Hancock Co., Ga., and finally he was placed under the preceptorship of the pre-eminently distinguished educator, Col. Richard Malcolm Johnson, near Baltimore, Md. Returning to Georgia he entered the junior class at the university of Georgia, Athens, in 1869, and graduated in 1871. He then went to Augusta and read law under William Hope Hull, one of the profoundest members of the

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legal profession of his time, was admitted to the bar in Richmond superior court in 1872, and in January, 1873, located in Louisville and commenced practice under the most flattering auspices. His very superior abilities being recognized, in 1875 he was appointed judge of the county court, but was found to be disquali- fied by age, being too young. But that same year he was appointed solicitor of the county court, and held the office until 1880, when he was elected solicitor-general of the middle circuit and served one term-four years. In 1886 he was elected to represent Jefferson county in the general assembly, and was re-elected in 1888, serving two ternis. When his legislative term expired in 1890 he was elected judge of the middle circuit and in 1894 was re-elected without opposition. It is very rare for a member of the legal profession to be called into the public service at the youthful age he was, or that one has been so rapidly and continuously promoted. Judge Gamble is universally regarded as one of the ablest lawyers in the state, while his record as solicitor and on the bench has been phenomenal. Being only just on the threshold of a vigorous mature manhood, possibilities and probabilities of a future for him of exceeding brilliance and great distinction are surpassed by no one now in public life in Georgia. Socially his family ranks with the most cultured in the state, while pecuniarily he is highly favored, having large planting interests. Judge Gamble was married in 1882 to Miss Cynthia, daughter of Dr. E. H. W. Hunter, and their household has been brightened and cheered by the addition of three children: Roger Lawson, Jr., Eula and Maude.

WILLIAM LITTLE, farmer, Grange, Jefferson Co., Ga., son of Robert P. and Elizabeth Little, was born in Jefferson county, May 19, 1851. His father was born in Burke county, Ga., and early in life moved to Jefferson county, where he acquired considerable property and became quite prominent. He represented the county one term in the general assembly before the war and one term since. He died in 1878, aged sixty-two years. His widow is still living, aged seventy-three. Both were members of the Presbyterian church, and the parents of eleven children. Mr. Little was educated at the Louisville academy, and at the age of eighteen began life for himself by farming, and has made it his life occupation, devoting his study and labor almost exclusively to it. He started with moderate means, but has kept his mind steadily on his business, managed well and invested judiciously, and now is one of the wealthiest men of his county. He attributes his substantial success and safe financial condition to adhering to the cash system-he owes no man. He has served the county as member of the board of roads and revenues, and in 1892-93 represented the county in the general assembly. Upright, substantial and thoroughly reliable, he enjoys the confidence of his fellow-citizens to the fullest extent. Mr. Little was married Nov. 19, 1875, to Miss Rosa Rozier of Burke county, who died the latter part of 1876, having borne him one child, who died in infancy. On Oct. 9, 1878, he contracted a second marriage with Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. R. K. Dixon, whose family was one of the most prominent and refined in that section of the state. He has four children living: Julia, Mary, William and Elizabeth. He is a stanch democrat, and a member of the Presbyterian church, of which he is an elder.

WILLIAM P. LOWERY, merchant, Louisville, Jefferson Co., Ga., son of Rev. W. J., D. D., and Margaret (Bell) Lowery, was born March 4, 1869. On his father's side he is of Scotch-Irish lineage, four brothers of the name having come to Georgia. His paternal grandfather, William S. Lowery, was professor of Latin and French at Erskine college, Due West, S. C., for nearly twenty years.

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His father was born in Louisville, Ga., in 1838, was educated at Erskine college and afterward attended, and at the age of eighteen was graduated from Prince- ton college, New Jersey; then entered the ministry as a Presbyterian clergyman, conscientiously discharging the duties of that sacred calling until Nov. 10, 1877, when he died while pastor of the First Presbyterian church at Louisville, Ky., aged thirty-eight. He was married twice. His first wife, a native of Starkville, Miss., died in Selma, Ala., in 1872, leaving three children: William Paul, Maggie Bell and Lula Eloise, who died in 1879. His second wife was Miss Mary C., daughter of Dr. R. K. Dixon of Jefferson county, who survives him. Mr. Lowery after preparatory studies entered Erskine college in 1883, from which he was graduated in 1887. After his graduation he taught school in South Carolina three years, and then came to Louisville-in January, 1891-and accepted a situation as salesman and bookkeeper with Beach & Farmer. In September, 1892, he entered into partnership with A. N. Beach in a general merchandise business. The firm has been very successful-its trade having materially increased every year, until now it is one of the largest and most prosperous business establishments in ' Louisville. Young, energetic and enterprising, possessing great business capa- bilities and unswerving integrity, he has before him the promise of a brilliant and prosperous business career. Mr. Lowery is a Knight of Pythias, of which he is a past chancellor, and was chosen to represent his (Damon) lodge at the grand lodge, May 21, 1895, in Atlanta. His family was largely represented in the revolu- tionary war, having had many relatives in the service; among them his maternal grandfather, Gen. Milton of Jefferson county. Ex-Gov. Milton of Florida was his grand-uncle. In politics he is a democrat.

JOHN ARCHIBALD M'MILLAN, farmer, Bartow, Jefferson Co., Ga., only child of Daniel and Mary (McRae) McMillan, was born in Montgomery county, Ga., Sept. 19, 1843. His father was a large and prosperous farmer, and accumulated much property. He represented his county a number of times in the general assembly, was a member of the Presbyterian church, and died in Octo- ber, 1881, aged sixty-eight years. His widow, also a member of the Presbyterian church, is yet living, aged seventy-four years. Mr. McMillan attended school first at Mt. Vernon, in his native county, and later went to Coopersville, Screven Co., Ga. When the war between the states began he enlisted first in Capt. Styles' cavalry company, and afterward in the Twentieth Georgia cavalry, which was in Gen. Wade Hampton's command. Among other battles he participated in those of the Wilderness, Trevilians Station, Cold Harbor, and quite a number of minor engagements. He served through the war and received a slight wound- losing a finger at Cold Harbor. After the war he commenced business as a mer- chant at Mt. Vernon, built up a large trade and made money. He also estab- lished a store at Bartow, where he commanded a large trade. He has large farm- ing interests; besides his home farm near Bartow, he has several in Montgomery county which he rents. He has acquired much property, and notwithstanding he has had the misfortune to lose very heavily, he still has large possessions. Although he is not a politician, as the term is generally understood, he was ordinary of Montgomery county twelve years. He has prospered, has an abundance and a good home on a well-stocked farm, and is prepared to live in quiet and comfort the balance of his life. Mr. McMillan was married in Jefferson county in 1873 to Miss Hollie F., daughter of Rev. R. W. Johnson. They have two children: Dan- iel Russell, twenty-one years old, now a student in Emory college, at Oxford, Ga., and John Archibald, attending school at Hephzibah, Richmond Co., Ga. Mr.

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Mc Millan is a master Mason, and a leading member of the Methodist church, serv- ing as a steward many years.

WILLIS D. RIVERS, merchant, Louisville, Jefferson Co., Ga., son of John F. and Phereby (Howard) Rivers, was born in Jefferson county, Oct. 29, 1856. His father was a prosperous farmer, and devoted his life to his farming interests, serving his fellow-citizens, however, as justice of the peace forty years. Ten chil- dren are the fruit of this marriage: George W., died in Richmond, Va., in 1863, while in the Confederate service; Solomon H., died May 27, 1893; John F., was in the militia service during the war, being too young to enter the army; Thomas WV., wholesale grocer, Augusta, Ga .; Albert Preston; Willis David, the subject of this sketch; Emily, wife of S. A. H. Thompson, Jefferson county; Elizabeth, wife of S. M. McNai, same county; Savannah, wife of Dr. R. T. Barton, Richmond county, Ga .; Dilla F., wife of A. J. Williams, Jefferson county. Mr. Rivers after receiving a good. primary education was prepared for college, but his original intention was not carried out. Instead in 1880 he entered Moore's Business col- lege, Atlanta, from which he graduated the same year. He then taught school one term, after which he accepted a situation as bookkeeper for Little & Clark, and kept it for ten years, when-in January, 1891-he was elected tax collector of Jefferson county, and re-elected in 1893 and 1895, each time over the strongest opponent that the county afforded. Although a stanch democrat, and nominated and elected as such, his popularity drew support from all parties. In 1891 he commenced a general merchandise business with a partner under the firm name of Rivers & Stapleton, the trade growing to very large proportions and proving profitable. Of genial disposition he is very popular; while his mercantile train- ing and strict business methods and accuracy, make him an invaluable public official. Mr. Rivers is a Knight of Pythias, and a master of finance of the local lodge.

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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 63

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