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 78

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 78

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REV. THOMAS A. BARROW, farmer and minister, Pelham, Mitchell county, Ga., son of David C. and Sarah (Pope) Barrow, was born in Oglethorpe county, Ga., in 1843. His paternal great-great-grandfather, Thomas Barrow, was born in England in 1640, came to America and settled in Southampton county, Va., where he died in 1730, aged ninety years. His great-grandfather, of same name, was born on the Nottoway river, Southampton county, Va., where he was raised, and afterward moved to North Carolina. James Barrow, son of Thomas, and grandfather of our subject, was born in North Carolina, Jan. 31, 1757, and served as a drummer boy in the patriot army during the revolutionary war. At the battle of Cowpens, S. C., he had his head split open with a saber. He was married three times, his third wife being a Miss Lewis, a native of Georgia, who died a

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few years later, leaving two children: David C. and Patience. He was an ardent member of the Baptist church, of which he was a deacon, and lived to be quite old. Patience, the daughter, married William McKinley and settled on the old homestead at Milledgeville, where they lived until they died. David C., Mr. Barrows' father, was born in Milledgeville, July, 26, 1815, and his mother in Oglethorpe county. The Pope family were early settlers of Oglethorpe (then Wilkes) county; and Mr. Barrow's maternal grandfather, Middleton Pope, was a wealthy planter, living a few miles south of Lexington. To this union nine children were born, of whom four are living: Pope, lawyer, and ex-United States senator, Savannah, Ga .; David C., professor university of Georgia; Mrs. Spalding, Sapelo Island, Ga., and Thomas A., the subject of this sketcli. The mother of these children having died, Mr. Barrow contracted a second marriage, but had no children. Rev. Barrow was reared on the farm, and attended subscription schools until he was fifteen years old-1858-when he entered the university of Georgia, where he remained until 1861, when he enlisted in the Troup artillery, the first company organized in Athens, and entered the Confederate service. He served through the war, participating in many important battles, among them: Savage Station, Crompton Gap, Md., and Fredericksburg. Entering the army as a private he was gradually promoted, until at the close he was an adjutant, and having served through the war was paroled May 19, 1865, at Waynesboro, Ga. After the surrender he went to Decatur county, Ga., and settled on a farm, and remained on it until 1891. That year he removed to Pelham, which has since been his home, and where he has been extensively engaged in farming. In 1890 he was ordained a minister of the Baptist church, and since then has been serving Meigs and Hopeful churches as pastor. Mr. Barrow was married in 1872 to Miss Jennie Turner, daughter of Rev. Thomas Turner of Illinois. In 1879 she died, a consistent member of the Methodist church, leaving two children: David C., now in the junior class at the university of Georgia, and Clara Elizabeth, in the junior class at the Lucy Cobb institute, at Athens, Ga. Mr. Barrow's second marriage was to Miss Alice, daughter of Columbus W. and Columbia A. (Bower) Hand, by whom he has had two children: Thomas A., Jr., and Frances Cuthbert. Rev. Barrow manages his extensive planting interests with marked ability and success, and is devoted in his service to the churches under his pastorate and the Baptist church generally. In politics he is a democrat, and is a member of the masonic fraternity.

WILLIAM L. BENNETT, farmer, Camilla, Mitchell Co., Ga., son of Lemuel D. and Jane (Little) Bennett, was born in Anson county, N. C., in 1833. His paternal grandfather, William Bennett, was a native of North Carolina, was a planter, and lived and died in that state. He married a Miss Susan Dunn, whose mother lived to be 106 years old. Her family were ardent patriots during the revolutionary war, and lost everything they had except one feather bed. His maternal grandfather, William Little, was a native of England, came to the United States when young and settled in North Carolina, where he married and followed farming, living to extreme old age. Mr. Bennett's father was born in North Carolina, April 15, 1805, and died in the county in which he was born Oct. 26, 1879. He was a consistent member of the Methodist church. His mother was born Oct. 20, 18II, and died a devout Episcopalian, Dec. 10, 1873. They were the parents of ten children, of whom seven are yet living: John W., in North Caro- lina; William L., the subject of this sketch; Thomas R., Camilla; Mrs. A. E. Townsend, Mitchell county; Mrs. Mary J. Smith; Frank and Mrs. Charlotte Dunlap, Anson county, N. C. The other children died in childhood. Mr. Bennett was reared and assisted on the farm in Anson county, and was educated in the

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common schools of that locality and time. In 1854, with no capital except a good constitution, a strong resolution, and integrity of character, he started out in life for himself. By way of Camden, S. C., he went to Pulaski county, Ark. From there he went by railway to Nashville, Tenn., and thence by water to Napoleon, Ark., at the mouth of the Arkansas river. From there he went to Aberdeen, Ark., and thence by private conveyance to Little Rock, Ark., settling finally on a tract of land twelve miles below Little Rock, on the Arkansas river. He remained there until 1870, when he came to Georgia, and, in 1873, settled per- manently in Mitchell county, where he has a large and magnificent body of land under the very best of cultivation. Starting poor and among strangers, he has by untiring industry, close attention to business, well-directed energy and enter- prise, and economy, acquired a large and valuable property. He continues to be a hard worker, is modest, unambitious of any distinction save that of being a good citizen and neighbor. He is considered to be one of the solidest and most substantial citizens of Mitchell county, and entirely reliable in every respect. His home is a delightful and attractive one, four miles west of Camilla, where amidst appreciative neighbors and friends he dispenses an open-handed hospitality. During the war between the states he served in the commissary department of Arkansas. Mr. Bennett was happily married in Arkansas, Jan. 12, 1858, to Miss P. A. Adams, daughter of Dudley and Sarah (Townsend) Adams. Mr. Adams was born in Greene county, Va., July 25, 1806, where he was raised and married- his wife being Virginia born also-and where he lived until he had several children. He then moved to middle Tennessee, and thence, subsequently to west Tennessee, and settled in Tipton county, where he engaged in farming. He died in Lonoke, Ark., Jan. 12, 1876, while there on a visit. His wife died about the same time in Tennessee. They had nine children, of whom three are living: J. G., Cabot, Ark .; Albert S., Dallas, Tex., and P. A., wife of the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Bennett lived in Tennessee until she was thirteen years old, when her father moved to Arkansas, first settling in Prairie, and afterward in Pulaski county. She received her primary education in the common schools of these counties, but finished it in Covington, Tipton Co., Tenn., and is one of the most accomplished ladies in Mitchell county. Two children-a son and a daughter- have blessed this union: William A., druggist, Camilla, and Arkie, a very accom- plished young lady, a graduate of the Methodist Female college, Cuthbert, Ga. Mr. Bennett is an ardent promoter of all religious moveinents, and a generous giver. He is one of the stanchest of democrats, and himself and family are exemplary and influential members of the Methodist church.

LITTLETON A. BROOKS, planter, Baconton, Mitchell Co., Ga., son of Littleton and Lucinda (Lowe) Brooks-born respectively in Virginia and South Carolina-was born in Edgefield district, S. C., in 1849. His father was born in Virginia in 1792, and when sixteen years old came with the family to South Carolina and settled in Edgefield district. There he grew to manhood on the farm, married, and accumulated a large property very rapidly. In 1853 he removed by wagon. with forty negroes, to Cherokee county, Ga., and purchased what is now known as the "Bullock Place," where he lived until 1863, when he moved to Mitchell county and settled eight miles east of Baconton, where he died in 1872, aged eighty years. He was a very ardent and active democrat, a warm admirer and devoted friend of Joseph E. Brown, and a prominent member of the Baptist church, of which he was a deacon for forty years. His widow died at the old home place in 1883, aged sixty-six years. To them ten children were born-nine before they came to Georgia. Those now living are: William

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A., Lee county ; E. B., Mitchell county; L. A., the subject of this sketch; D. B., on the old home place; Rebecca, wife of A. J. Frazier. Those deceased are: Robert; N. H .; Benjamin, died during the late civil war; Lucretia, Mrs. Robinson; and Virginia, Mrs. Jassiert. Mr. Brooks was fourteen years of age when his father moved to Mitchell county, where he was educated and grew to manhood. He remained on the farm until 1874, when he settled at Baconton, on the Savannah, Florida & Western railway, where he engaged in merchandising and was appointed railway and express agent and postmaster. In 1877 he settled on the farm where he now lives, which contains 500 acres, 250 of which are under cultivation. He is very energetic, is among the most progressive of farmers and citizens, and possesses remarkable executive ability. Himself and all his family are workers. Mr. Brooks was married in 1877 to Miss Alpha M. Bowls, born in Mitchell county, daughter of W. S. Bowls. She was liberally educated at Jonesboro, Clayton Co., Ga. Six children have been born to them: Eugene, Willis M., Frank B., Lena A., deceased; Robert and Byron B. Mrs. Brooks is a member of the Baptist church. He is a leading member of the county democracy.

ISAAC A. BUSH, lawyer and farmer, Camilla, Mitchell Co., Ga., son of Isaac and Temperance (Roberts) Bush, was born in Early county, Ga., May 10, 1848. His grandfather, James Bush, came to Georgia from one of the Carolinas, and was one of the earliest settlers in Early county. The family settled near where Blakely now stands, and he lived there until 1869, when he died at a very advanced age. He was very successful as a planter, acquired a large number of slaves, and became quite popular and influential. He was a soldier in the Florida war, and was an "old-line whig." He was four times married, and reared a very large family, nineteen children. He was a zealous and influential member of the Baptist church. Five of his children are yet living, three daughters and two sons, Isaac and Elijah B .; the latter is principal physician of the state penitentiary of Georgia. Isaac, the first named, is the father of the subject of this sketch. He was a son of his father's second wife, Miss Mary (Caraway) Bush, who was the mother of ten children. He was born Sept. 21, 1821, and is yet living, hale and hearty for his age, at what has been his home for more than thirty years, in Miller county, Ga. As a farmer he has been eminently successful, has held the various offices of the county, including that of ordinary, and has represented the county in both branches of the general assembly. He served as a private soldier in the army of the Confederacy under Col. Hood. His wife died Oct. 13, 1893, aged seventy-one years. Of the ten children born to them six survive: Three daughters and three sons. The latter are: James S., merchant and farmer; Charles C., lawyer, both of Colquitt, Miller Co., Ga., and Isaac A. Mr. Isaac A. Bush was the second born of those living and was reared in Early and Miller counties, and educated in the common schools and at the academy at Colquitt. During the late war he served first in the Georgia militia, and when his command was disbanded at Griffin he enlisted in a siege artillery regiment at St. Mark's, and participated in the battle at Newport, and in the defense of Atlanta during the siege. He read law under Sims & Crawford, eminent lawyers, Bainbridge, Ga., and in October, 1868, was admitted to the bar. In the fall of 1877 he located in Camilla, which has since been his home and the field of his professional labor. He is a leading member of the Camilla bar, and considered one of the ablest lawyers in the circuit, has achieved eminent success, won an enviable reputation and a large and valuable clientage; at the same time he manages with unusual success extensive planting interests. He is considered high authority in agriculture as well as law. He represented Miller county two terms-four years-and the senatorial district one term in the general assembly some years ago. While in the house he was instrumental as

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chairman of that committee in having a law enacted taxing wild lands. He is now (1895) representing Mitchell county in the general assembly. At the last ses- sion of that body he introduced the famous "anti-bar-room" bill. Mr. Bush comes of a family of legislators, his father, all of his brothers and he himself having at different times been prominent members of the lower branch of the general assem- bly, and all but one brother, James S., having represented their district in the state senate. Mr. Charles C. Bush, who now represents the Eighth district in the state senate, is the youngest brother of the subject of this sketch. Mr. Bush was married in September, 1870, to Miss Calista W., daughter of W. G. Sheffield, a leading citizen of Calhoun county, Ga. Six children who have blessed this union are now living: Robert D. and Marshall E., who are now practicing law with their father under the firm name of I. A. Bush & Sons, both of whom are A. B. graduates of Emory college and have attended the law school of the university of Georgia; Nina Irene, a member of the junior class of the Wesleyan Female college, Macon, Ga .; Isaac A., Jr .; Ross, and Calista. Mr. Bush is a royal arch Mason, and he and his family are zealous and exemplary members of the Methodist church. He has been elected three times a delegate from the annual to the gen- eral conference of the Methodist Episcopal church south; first, that held at Rich- mond, Va .; second, that at St. Louis, Mo., and, third, that held at Memphis, Tenn., in 1895. This is the highest honor the church can confer upon a layman. He is noted for his liberal support of the church and of intellectual and moral progres- siveness.

ROBERT H. COCHRAN, planter, Camilla, Mitchell Co., Ga., son of James and Martha (Smith) Cochran, was born in Chambers county, Ala. His great- grandfather, Adam Cochran, was one of three brothers who came from Scotland to this country before the revolutionary war and settled in Virginia. John Coch- ran, his grandfather, when grown to manhood, moved to North Carolina, where he married Miss Sarah McMillan. They remained in North Carolina until they had nine children, seven sons and two daughters, when he migrated to Alabama, whence, subsequently he removed to Georgia, and settled near Albany in what is now Dougherty county. But one of his children, Mrs. Rose M. Beverly, Thomas county, Ga., is now living. Although when a young man he became paralyzed on one side, he lived to be ninety years old. He was a stanch democrat, a large and successful planter, and himself and wife consistent members of the Missionary Baptist church, and both were buried in the family burying ground in Dougherty county. Mr. Cochran's father, fifth child of his parents, was born in North Caro- lina, and while yet young moved with his family to Alabama, where he grew to manhood and married Miss Martha Smith, who was born in North Carolina. He served as a soldier in the Florida war. Subsequently he moved from Alabama to Georgia, and settled near Albany, in what is now Dougherty county, where he died. To him were born six children: William, who died in Yorktown in the Confederate service; John, deceased, widow and four children now living in Mitchell county; James, deceased, merchant, left widow and two children in Camil- la; Callie, deceased at fifteen; C. C. Cochran, and Robert H., the subject of this sketch. The family subsequently moved to Baker county, and thence to the neighborhood where our subject now lives, with whom his mother, born in 1814, now eighty years of age, makes her home. Mr. Cochran, when five years old, came with the family to a place near Albany, Ga., where the family lived twelve years. When he was eighteen years of age he enlisted in Campbell's siege artillery company, and was stationed at St. Mark's, Fla., performing guard duty, and skirmishing more or less for the two years and two months he was in the service, when he was compelled to come home on account of seriously impaired health.

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He then assumed the management of the home place, not far from where he lives. Mr. Cochran's life has been an eventful and very busy one. Being wholesouled. and, hence, popular, and withal of great capability, his fellow-citizens have kept him almost constantly in some public position. He has been sheriff of the county, deputy sheriff four years, tax collector fourteen years, and in 1892 was elected to represent the county in the general assembly. He is extensively engaged in plant- ing, has a splendid well-managed and improved plantation, and takes an active and deep interest in everything promising to develop and add to the material pros- perity of the county. He makes his influence felt in whatever cause or object he espouses. Mr. Cochran has been married three times. His first wife was Miss Emma Haile, by whom he had three children: Underwood, a graduate of the medical college, Louisville, Ky., physician and druggist, Camilla, Ga .; Mattie Lou, wife of James Hall, Thomas county, and B. H., Camilla. His second wife was Miss Blanche Haile, by whom he had two sons, Roy and Edward, both at home. For his third wife he married Miss Henrietta Haile, a cousin of his first wife, who has borne him three children: Mildred J., Robert H., Jr., and Eustis. Mr. Cochran and his family are exemplary members of the Baptist church. Mr. Cochran's brother, C. C. Cochran, is a successful planter and stock raiser, living in Mitchell county. He has been twice married, his first wife being Janie, a daughter of James Collins, a well-to-do farmer of Mitchell county, and his second wife, Douglas Collins, a sister of the first wife. By the first marriage three children were born: Maud, Collins, and Janie; and by the second one son, Will.

GEORGE C. COCHRAN, farmer-merchant, Flint, Mitchell Co., Ga., son of Robert and Elizabeth (Smith) Cochran, was born in Chambers county, Ala., in 1845. His great-grandfather, Adam Cochran, was one of three brothers who came from Scotland to this country before the revolutionary war. John Cochran, his grandfather, settled in North Carolina, where he married Miss Sallie Mc- Millan-he dying at ninety and she at eighty-four years of age. Mr. Cochran's father was born in Anson county, N. C., in August, 1805. He was raised a farmer, and farming was his life pursuit. His wife was born Feb. 2, 1817, and they were married in 1836. After their marriage they migrated to Georgia and stopped in Talbot county one year. They then went to Meriwether county, Ga., where they spent another year, and then moved to Alabama and settled in Chambers county, where they remained until 1850, when they returned to Georgia and settled in Baker county. After remaining there ten years they moved to Mitchell county and settled near Flint, where he died in February, 1889, aged eighty-four years. He was a democrat and an active member of the Missionary Baptist church, in which he took a lively interest. His widow, hale and hearty for one of her years- seventy-seven-makes her home with the subject of this sketch. She is also a devout member of the Baptist church. They were the parents of thirteen chil- dren, of whom twelve were raised to maturity, and eight are yet living: John W., Thomasville, Ga .; Robert T., Mitchell county; G. B., Flint; George C., the subject of this sketch: Mrs. Sarah A. Johnson, Meigs, Thomas Co .; Mrs. Martha M. Adams; Mrs. Elizabeth Stripling and Mrs. Rosa Jones. Those de- ceased are J. T., Mrs. Mollie Putnam, Marquis De La Fayette, who was acci- dentally killed after his return from the Confederate army; Ida and Alice, an infant. Mr. Cochran was raised and educated and grew to manhood in Mitchell county, excepting the time he was in the army. After the war he began life for himself on the old homestead and operated it three years. He then went to Dougherty county and permanently located at Flint, where he has since been extensively engaged in farming and a general merchandise business. He has

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1,600 acres under admirable cultivation, wisely diversifying his crops. For seven years after coming here he did a milling business, but of late years he has devoted himself entirely to his farm and store, prospering in both. Mr. Cochran married Miss Anna B., daughter of Dr. James S. and Mary Summerlyn (nee Partridge) Jones, natives, respectively, of Virginia and Georgia. Dr. Jones received a liberal education in his native state, and coming to Georgia, was for some years local editor of the "Morning News," Savannah. He afterward went to Florida, where he became a leading physician. He was born in May, 1817, and died in South Florida, Sept. 18, 1885. His wife was born in 1817, and died in November, 1889. Dr. Jones was a royal arch Mason and himself and wife were members of the Presbyterian church. Three children were born to them: Minor S., Titusville, Fla .; Anna B., wife of our subject, and William L., Houston county, Ga. Mrs. Jones had three children by her first husband, of whom one, Mrs. John S. Pur- viance, Hamilton county, Fla., is still living. Mrs. Cochran was raised in Florida, was educated in Lake City and Fernandina, and was engaged in teaching in Dougherty county, Ga., when she married Mr. Cochran. Five children have blessed their union: Ida Lou, who died at the age of thirteen; George H., Eva Florida, Robert S. and Anna Jones. A leading and prosperous farmer and mer- chant, he is prominent and influential, socially, politically and financially. He is a stanch democrat and himself and wife are consistent members of the Missionary Baptist church.

I.A. M. COLLINS, planter and turpentine distiller, Flint, Mitchell Co., Ga., son of Bryant and Martha (Bullard) Collins, was born in Coweta county, Ga., in 1838. His parents were natives of North Carolina, who, soon after their mar- riage, came to Georgia and settled in Wilkinson county. In 1826 or 1827 they moved to Coweta county, settled on a farm and lived there eighteen or twenty years. They then moved to Stewart county, farmed particularly successfully some years, and then moved and settled near Flint, in that part of Baker, now included in Mitchell county. Here they lived until they died-he in 1862, aged sixty-eight, and she, a member of the Baptist church, in 1863, aged sixty-five years. He was a man of considerable ability, of strong and determined character, and before the war accumulated a handsome property. Left an orphan, and poor, he enjoyed no educational advantages, but entering a store as a clerk while a boy, he acquired the rudiments of an education, and such a knowledge of busi- ness affairs as to be consulted about, and employed to write deeds, contracts, etc. Later in life he served as a justice of the peace; while living in Coweta county he taught school, and also served as a soldier in the Florida war. Politically he was an old-time democrat. To this worthy couple nine children-five sons and four daughters-were born, of whom three are now living: James A., L. A. M., the subject of this sketch, and Mrs. Martha Tyar, Americus, Ga. Those deceased are: Jessie, Mrs. Beck, Mitchell county; Caroline, wife of Daniel Palmer; Pris- cilla, Mrs. Joiner, Mitchell county ; Joseph, served during the war, died in Camilla : Charles, served during the war, wounded in battle at Ocean Pond; Benjamin, wounded at Petersburg, died while on his way home. Mr. Collins was raised mainly in Stewart and Mitchell counties, attending schools in both, coming to what is now Mitchell county in 1854, and located near the home place, where he lived until he went to Camilla. After five years' residence there he moved to his present property, where he has since been extensively and profitably engaged in the turpentine and rosin business. He has two plants, one at Flint, and a larger one on the line between Mitchell and Colquitt counties, about ten miles east of Flint, which is the largest in the county. He owns about 11,000 acres of land,

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MITCHELL COUNTY SKETCHES.

and his output is about 1,000 barrels of turpentine and 5,000 barrels of rosin. He is the largest producer in Mitchell county. He has been postmaster at Flint since the office was established. Besides his turpentine and rosin business Mr. Collins conducts a very extensive farming interest. He is one of the shrewdest and best money-making men in the county, and possesses great force of character. He is a democrat and has represented Mitchell county in the general assembly. Mr. Collins was married to Mrs. Laura A. (nee Fitzgerald) Hilliard, of Stewart county, by whom he has had six children: Della, Martha L., Rosa, C. D., J. E. and D. B. Mrs. Collins is an ardent and exemplary member of the Missionary Baptist church, and the family is one of the most interesting and intelligent in the com- munity.

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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 78

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