USA > Kentucky > Trigg County > Counties of Christian and Trigg, Kentucky : historical and biographical > Part 50
USA > Kentucky > Christian County > Counties of Christian and Trigg, Kentucky : historical and biographical > Part 50
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the position of Captain and noted for his competency and strict military discipline. He was also engaged as tutor in the university, by which means he was able to finish his education. Having completed his literary course in June, 1873, he went to teaching school and studying law ; he taught one year longer at Lexington and then took a course of law lectures at Kentucky University, and then returned to Cadiz and took charge of the high school, which position he ably filled as Principal for about eight years. In 1876 he was admitted to practice law in the courts of the State, since which time he has been actively engaged in the practice of his profession (even while teaching), and we predict for him a bright future. In August, 1883, he was elected County Attorney, which office he now honorably fills, and is said to be one of the most active, energetic and competent officers Trigg has had. He is a member of the Board of School Examiners, and also connected with the Society of Chosen Friends. Capt. Dabney was married June 14, 1876, to Miss Mattie, second daughter of J. W. Chappell, of Cadiz. Three bright children gladden their home. Capt. Dabney and wife are both devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. He has been Sun- day-school Superintendent for the past six years.
WILLIAM L. DUNN was born in Robinson County, Tenn., May 8, 1858. He is a son of Samuel and Victoria (La Prade) Dunn, also natives of Robinson County, Tenn. At the breaking out of the war Samuel enlisted in the Confederate Army, and was killed at the battle of Chicka- mauga, aged twenty-eight years. The subject of this sketch was reared in his native county, and engaged in agricultural pursuits ; there he con- tinued to reside till January 1, 1883, when he came to Trigg County. He owns 178 acres where he now resides. Mr. Dunn was married December 10, 1879, to Miss Susie B., daughter of John F. White, one of the oldest and wealthiest settlers of Trigg County.
J. E. EDWARDS was born December 26, 1842, in Simpson County, Ky. He is a son of Henry M. and Susan (Travis) Edwards ; the former was born in North Carolina in 1811, died in 1866. Our subject at the age of two years was brought by his parents to Graves County, where he was reared. In 1863 he removed to Christian County ; engaged there in farming seven years. In 1870 he came to Cadiz-here kept a hotel four years. In 1876 he was elected Jailor ; held that office four years ;
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then engaged in the sewing machine business three years. August, 1882, he was elected Assessor, which office he still holds. He owns a farm where he resides, one and one-half miles from Cadiz. He was married in December, 1864, to Alice B. Arbuckle, who was born in Christian County, by whom he had five children-two daughters and three sons. Mr. Edwards is a member of the Blue Lodge and Chapter, A. F. & A. M., K. of P. and Methodist Episcopal Church South.
RICHARD T. ELLIS was born November 10, 1844, in Cadiz: He is the only child of Ira A. and Elizabeth K. (Tyler) Ellis. The father was born in Christian County. He came to Cadiz in 1843 ; kept the Cadiz House about one year ; he then removed to the iron works, where he kept books several years. He also held the office of Sheriff one term. In 1853 he was elected State Senator, and while a member of this body was taken sick and died in Cadiz in 1854. The mother was born on the farm now owned by our subject on March 15, 1825; she died in Cadiz May 1, 1846. Subject was married February 25, 1868, to Miranda E. Humphries. She was born in Trigg County. Two children bless this marriage-one son and one daughter. After living three years on this farm, in 1871, they removed to Golden Pond Precinct ; there they remained one year, when they returned to this farm and occupied a house built on this land by his grandfather. In 1880 they removed to their present home. This is one of the oldest settled farms in the neighborhood, and originally contained 675 acres. Mr. Ellis now owns the homestead with 332} acres. This farm is situated on the Cadiz and Hopkinsville road, and is considered one of the most desirable locations in this county. Mr. Ellis is a member of the I. O. O. F. He and wife are also members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
HON. JAMES B. GARNETT was born on July 28, 1845, near Pembroke, Christian County ; he is the youngest of five children born to Eldred and Frances A. (Pendleton) Garnett. The father was born in Abermarle County, Va., in 1813, and died on his farm in Christian County, Ky., in 1870. The mother was born in 1810 in Orange County, Va., and is now living in Christian County. Our subject has three broth- ers in Christian County, two engaged in merchandising at Pembroke, the other in farming and teaching school. His sister is the wife of Rev. R. W. Morehead, of Princeton, Ky. In 1866 Mr. Garnett commenced the
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study of law at the Lebanon Law School, and graduated at this college of learning in the class of 1868. Immediately after he came to Cadiz and located here, and since that time has been actively engaged in the practice of his profession. In 1870 he was elected County Attorney and served four years. During part of this time he was also Common School Commissioner for two years. In August, 1875, he was elected State Senator from the Third Senatorial District, which was composed of the counties of Trigg, Calloway, Lyon and Livingston. In 1880 he was elected Commonwealth's Attorney for the Second Judicial District, com- prising the counties of Muhlenburg, Christian, Hopkins, Trigg, Caldwell and Lyon, for the term of six years; this office he still honorably fills. Mr. Garnett was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention at Baltimore in 1872, and at St. Louis in 1876; he was married in October, 1877, to Miss Virginia Hewell, of Tuscaloosa, Ala. This lady died on November 30, 1878.
JOHN J. GARTON was born in Christian County on July 5, 1827. He is the elder of two sons, now living, born to James C. and Frances (Londerman) Garton. The father was born in Kentucky, and died Jan- uary 24, 1835, aged thirty-nine. The mother was a native of Virginia, and died December 3, 1854, aged fifty-three years. The subject of this sketch was raised on a farm. After attending the usual subscription school, at the age of fifteen he was apprenticed to the saddlery trade. He continued in this business until 1862, when he engaged in general mer- chandising. He first opened a store in Lafayette and afterward at Hop- kinsville. In January, 1867, he came to Cadiz, where he has since been engaged in this business. He began at Lafayette with a stock of about $1,000, and now carries a stock of about $10,000. He has been acting as Postmaster at Cadiz for the past fourteen years. On February 15, 1854, Mr. Garton was married to Miss Fannie E. White, of Lafayette, Christian County. This lady died November 30, 1860, leaving three daughters. Mr. Garton was next married at Cadiz, on December 13, 1864, to Miss Bettie Lindsay, a native of Christian County. Mr. G. is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and of the Christian Church.
H. M. GARTON was born in Todd County, Ky., April 16, 1829. He is the third child of a family of four born to James C. and Frances Garton. After the death of his father, which occurred in 1840, his mother
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returned with her family to her father, John Londerman; there the sub- ject of this sketch was reared. After attending school in Christian County, he commenced the study of dentistry, and attended the Balti- more Dental School in 1854-55. In 1856 he located in Cadiz, and opened his dental rooms. This business he continued till 1881. He with his brother, John J., in 1867, opened a general store here, and con- tinued his interest in this business till the fall of 1878, when he sold out to his brother, and built his present spacious store-house, where he with his son, Henry H., is now engaged in the hardware and agricultural implement business. They are carrying a stock of about $5,000. His son, Henry H., was married October 7, 1880, to Miss Blanche, daughter of Col. Gentry. She was born in Trigg County. One daughter has blessed this union. Mr. Garton has held the office of Postmaster contin- uously since 1866.
W. D. GRACE was born January 24, 1813, in Caldwell, now Trigg County, Ky .; he is the second child of a family of four born to George and Nancy (Williams) Grace; they were born in North Carolina, and married in Montgomery County, Tenn .; the father was engaged in agri- culture. On coming to Trigg County they settled on a farm of about 300 acres, three miles west of Canton ; he died in 1850, aged sixty-five. Our subject at the age of nineteen bought a farm on Crooked Creek ; lived there four years, then removed to Canton, where he lived about twenty-five years. He first kept hotel and later engaged in merchandising and commission, also engaged in pork-packing four seasons. In 1861 he removed to Cadiz ; during his stay there he had raised three crops. Jan- uary 1, 1867, he removed to their present farm which consisted at that time of about 1,300 acres ; about 800 acres of this land have since been disposed of. Mr. Grace has been three times married; his first marriage, was July 15, 1832, to Mary Organ. She was born in Wilson County, Tenn .; died August 30, 1834. They had two children : Frances, wife of D. P. Austin, was born April 28, 1833 ; she died December 28, 1881; John R. was born May 27, 1834; he took up the study of law and grad- uated at the Louisville Law College, at the age of twenty-one; he then engaged in the practice of his profession, and soon after became a partner in the law firm of Mayes & Grace; he has held the office of County Judge, and now serving his third term as Judge of the Second Judicial District.
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Mr. Grace was next married, June 11, 1839, to Elizabeth Gough ; she was born February 20, 1820, in Stewart County, Tenn. She died July 6, 1849. They had four children-all deceased. His third marriage was on September 8, 1850, to Sarah Munday; she was born in Virginia. This union was blessed with two children, one living-Alex. H., who is now the owner of this farm. He was married, February 15, 1882, to Miss Eliza Wharton. She was born in Trigg County.
JUDGE JOHN R. GRACE was born May 27, 1834, in Trigg County, Ky. He is a son of William D. and Mary (Organ) Grace. The father was born in Caldwell, now Trigg County, January 24, 1813, and is now living on his farm, about three miles from Cadiz. The mother was a native of Wilson County, Tenn. She died August 30, 1834. John R. was reared in or near Canton, and attended the sub- scription schools of that locality, after which he attended the Lebanon High School one year. At about the age of nineteen he took up the study of law, under the preceptorship of Maj. Matthew Mayes, where he continued one year, after which he went to Louisville, and there entered the law department of the Transylvania College ; there graduated in the class of 1855. He then came to Cadiz and engaged in the practice of his profession. In 1858 he was elected County Judge. Two years later he formed a partnership with Maj. Matthew Mayes, firm of Mayes & Grace. This partnership continued till 1865. He then formed a part- nership with Henry C. Burnett, which continued till the death of the latter, which occurred in September, 1866. He continued the practice of this profession till 1868, when he was elected Curcuit Judge of the Second Judicial District, comprising the counties of Trigg, Christian, Hopkins, Caldwell and Lyon. He was re-elected in 1874, and again in 1880; this position he still honorably fills. In 1880 the county of Muhlenburg was added to this circuit. In October, 1882, he was nomi- nated on the Democratic ticket for Congress, representing the First Con- gressional District, and was defeated by Oscar Turner, the Independent candidate, by a small majority. Judge Grace was married in 1859, to Miss Emeline, daughter of Abner Terry, of Trigg County. This lady died in January, 1861, aged twenty-four years.
WILLIAM W. GRAY was born in Christian County, on March 25, 1858, and is a son of James and L. (Brown) Gray. His father was a
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native of North Carolina. When young he removed to Kentucky, and engaged in merchandising at Wallonia. He continued business there until his death, which occurred in 1859. At the time of his death he was the owner of a large farm in Christian County, and two stores, one in Wallonia, the other in Christian County. The mother was a native of Virginia, and after her husband's death, she removed to her farm. In 1866 she was married to Frederick Routon, who was also a farmer. William W. was reared on his mother's farm. He continued to reside there until June, 1883, when he came to Cadiz. He is the owner of three farms in Christian County, and 250 acres in Trigg County. On January 8, 1881, he was married to Miss Lou Hancock, a native of this county. Two sons have blessed this union.
R. J. GRIGSBY was born February 20, 1834, in Logan County, Ky., and is a son of Jesse and Mary (Moseley) Grigsby. The former was born in Virginia, the latter in Logan County, Ky. The father of our subject when young learned the blacksmith's trade, which he followed most of his life. At about the age of twelve he was brought with his parents to this locality, where they settled on a farm ; here he remained till the age of twenty-one. He then bought 200 acres of land where he now resides, and has since been engaged in farming. He has from time to time added other lands by purchase; he now owns from 600 to 700 acres embraced in two farms. He has held the office of Magistrate four years. Mr. Grigsby was married in September, 1866, to Tabitha Rogers. She was born in Trigg County. Two children bless this union-one son and one daughter.
THOMAS H. GRINTER, capitalist, was born in Logan County, Ky., September 12, 1823, and is the third of a family of nine children born to Samuel and Nancy (Hill) Grinter, natives of Virginia. His father was a farmer, and our subject grew to manhood on the latter's farm. When nineteen years old, on January 1, 1842, he came to Cadiz. Here he first clerked in Hiram Thompson's store for three years; he then bought out J. E. Thompson, and after various changes in the style of the firm, it finally became known as Thompson & Grinter. This partnership continued two years, and at the end of this time the latter sold out. He next purchased the office of Sheriff from James Garnett, which he held for two years; he then engaged in merchandising under the firm name of
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Grinter & Baker; he remained in this business two years, then sold out, and again bought the office of Sheriff from Stanley Thomas. Since then he has been engaged attending to his private affairs, and managing estates for others, also acting as guardian for minors. Probably no other man in Trigg County has made or spent as much money as Mr. Grinter. Coming to Cadiz in 1842, with but $2, he is to day the richest man in Christian or Trigg County ; his wealth in part consists of $120,000 in Govern- ment bonds ; he also owns several stores and residences in Cadiz, among which might be mentioned the Cadiz House, erected in 1880. This building, including the ground on which it stands, cost $18,000. He is by far the largest tax payer of any one in Trigg County. Mr. Grinter was married, in 1850, to Mary, a daughter of William Redd, of Trigg County. This union has been blessed with seven children, two sons and five daughters. Mr. Grinter has been Town Treasurer, Trustee of the Jury Fund, and Master Commissioner of the Circuit Court. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity.
WESLEY GUNN, deceased, was born May 1, 1819, in Robinson County, Tenn. In 1854 he came to Cadiz, and engaged in the tobacco business ; he also superintended the building of the present stemmery, now owned and operated by Mr. White; he afterward removed to a farm three miles distant from Cadiz ; there he engaged in agricultural pursuits till his death, which occurred February 22, 1865. He was married, in 1856, to Miss Addie Grinter. She was born in 1837, in Logan County, Ky. Four children blessed this union-two sons and two daughters. The eldest son, S. Walker Gunn, now engaged with Torian & Barber, of Evansville, Ind. Thomas W. is now employed in the post office at Cadiz. Mrs. Gunn is a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.
WALTER H. HANCOCK was born on August 24, 1850, in Camp- bell County, Va .; he is the eldest of a family of ten children born to D. M. Hancock, also a native of Virginia. When subject was six years old his father came to Trigg County, where he farmed. Subject remained at home with his father until he was twenty-six years old. In the meantime he held various local offices until 1882, among which might be mentioned Deputy Sheriff, and Constable. He next came to Cadiz, where he has since been engaged in the grocery and liquor business. Mr. Hancock
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was married on January 9, 1883, to Miss Ida M. Allen, daughter of William Allen, of Christian County, Ky. He is a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church South.
WILEY L. HILLMAN was born October 8, 1847, in Hopkinsville ; he is the third child of a family of four born to W. W. and Mary (Lind- say) Hillman ; the former was born in Louisa County, Va., in 1814, died on his farm near Cadiz in 1878, aged sixty-four; he moved to Christian County in 1832, where he lived till 1848, then came to Trigg County, carrying on his trade, that of contractor and builder; he built the Canton and Roaring Springs bridges at Cadiz, and various other improvements ; he bought a farm one and one-half miles southeast of Cadiz, where he lived till his death. His mother was a daughter of Dr. Lindsay, a native of Virginia. She died in 1849. When about the age of five our subject was brought by his father to Cadiz, where he was reared. In 1870 he went to Kansas; there learned the boot and shoe trade, following this business there till January, 1877, when he returned to Cadiz and estab- lished his present business; he keeps on hand constantly a well selected stock of ready made boots and shoes, also manufactures to order ; he was married in 1879 to Fannie Falkner. She was born in Trigg County. They are members of the Christian Church, and he of the Masonic fra- ternity and K. of H.
JOHN G. JEFFERSON is the oldest native born white child now living in Cadiz ; he was born here on September 21, 1834, and is a son of Dr. Thomas B. and Martha A. (Graves) Jefferson. The father was born in Pittsylvania County, Va., on the 13th of April, 1805, and was a son of Peter F. and Elizabeth (Harrison) Jefferson. The former was a cousin of President Jefferson, the latter a cousin of President Har- rison. When Thomas was six years old his father moved to Sumner County, Tenn. Here Dr. Jefferson obtained the rudiments of his educa- tion. At the age of eighteen he entered the office of Dr. Rawlings and commenced the study of medicine. After studying there one year he entered the Transylvania University at Lexington. At this institution he remained two terms, and graduated with honor to himself and credit to his preceptors. On his return from college he settled in the vicinity of Nashville, Tenn. After practicing medicine one year alone he entered into a co-partnership with Dr. Maxey, at Haysboro, Davidson Co., Tenn.
B13
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In 1830 he determined to go to St. Louis, and accordingly started for that place; he was delayed by a severe snowstorm at Hopkinsville, and while stopping there some of the citizens of Cadiz, among them William Can- non, then Clerk of the Circuit Court, petitioned him to settle at this point. Accordingly in the fall of 1831 he came to Cadiz, and cast his lot with the people of this county. In 1832, when the Asiatic cholera made its appearance in Kentucky, Salem, in Crittenden County, was smit- ten by the epidemic. The people of Cadiz, fearing this disease would appear at that point, solicited Dr. Jefferson to go and investigate the theory of the disease. With commendable zeal and fearlessness he started to Salem, but on his arrival at Princeton he found the scourge had already reached that point. Here the citizens stopped him and insisted that he should take charge of the case of Mr. Peter Simmerman, a merchant of that place, then pronounced by the home physicians to be in a hopeless condition. Our subject now has in his possession two letters concerning his father's treatment of this case; one written by N. S. Dalman, Esq., the other by Thomas Haynes, Esq., in which the courage, skill and firm- ness of Dr. Jefferson are spoken of in words of deep admiration. Sim- merman although in a collapsed state when Dr. J. reached him, was cured, and as one of the letter writers remarked, "Dr. J. snatched an estimable citizen from the grave and restored him to the bosom of his fam" ily." He continued to make tri-weekly visits to Princeton during the prevalence of the disease, and under the treatment of this physician the disease lost its terrors to some extent. From this time until his death Dr. Jefferson occupied a very high, if not the highest, rank in the medical profession of this and adjoining counties; he died on July 11, 1873, and his loss was severely felt in the community in which he had resided so long, especially by the poorer classes, for whom he had great sympathy. He loved the right, manly and the noble, and detested fraud, meanness and sham. The mother of subject was born in Davidson County, Tenn., and her death occurred in this county in April, 1853. The schools of the county furnished subject's education. When a youth he went to Eddyville, Lyon County, and there taught school for a while, then wrote in the County Clerk's office. While engaged in this latter occupation he also found time to read law some, and in 1855 he entered the Louisville Law School. From this institution he graduated
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in the class of 1856; he came to this county and practiced his pro- fession for a few months, when he became book-keeper at Laura Furnace, where he remained until his marriage. During the war he spent most of the time in the South. In 1866 he returned to Cadiz and remained a short time; he then went to Texas, where he spent several months, and then returned to this county. In January, 1869, he was appointed County Court Clerk, and in the fol- lowing August he was elected to the office for one year, and in August, 1870, he was re-elected for four years, and since that time has held the office continuously, being re-elected in 1874, 1878 and 1882; he is an insurance agent, and also does something in farming, having a tract of land near Cadiz. Mr. Jefferson was married near Nashville, Tenn., on May 17, 1861, to Miss Elizabeth S. Banks, a daughter of Samuel M. and Nancy R. (McCarty) Banks. Mrs. Jefferson was born in Fayette County, Mo., and is the mother of five children-one girl and four boys. Subject and family are all members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Mr. Jefferson is also a member of A. F. & A. M., I. O. O. F., K. of H. and Chosen Friends fraternities.
PETER S. JEFFERSON was born in Cadiz, Trigg County, on November 21, 1847, and is a son of Dr. Thomas B. Jefferson, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work. Our subject's early education was received in Cadiz. At the age of fifteen he began to clerk for his brother William (now deceased). He remained with him for about three years. He next clerked for J. W. Chappell for about two years. He then went to Clarksville, and there acted as clerk in a warehouse for about seven months. He afterward returned to Cadiz, and has since been engaged in the grocery and liquor business. Mr. Jefferson was married on January 21, 1883, to Miss Corrie, daughter of Charles Baker, a son of one of the oldest settlers of Cadiz. This lady was born in Princeton.
L. LEWIS JOHNSON was born in Canton Precinct on April 23, 1860, and is a son of Levi L. and Mary (Vinson) Johnson. Subject is the sixth of seven children, of whom five are now living: Cyrus, in Lyon County ; Alice, wife of J. M. Carr; Eliza, wife of Ricks Cal- houn ; Levi Lewis, and Cornelia, wife of Robert Randolph. The schools of the county furnished his education. He remained on the home farm until twenty-one. He then came to Cadiz, and engaged in the grocery
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business three years. Since then he has been engaged in farming ; he is a member of Cadiz Lodge, No. 121, and in politics is a Republican.
GEORGE T. McCAIN was born November 25, 1852, in Trigg County ; he is the third child of a family of five born to John A. and Caroline (Wharton) McCain ; the former was born in North Carolina in 1816; he died in Graves County, Ky., in 1867; he had been engaged in merchandising since a boy, and was one of the oldest merchants of Wal- lonia; he was also largely engaged in the tobacco business; his mother was born in Paris, Tenn., in 1821; she died in 1860. The subject of this sketch, after attending school, entered his father's store as a clerk, where he remained till the death of his father. In the fall of 1876, he bought out T. W. Saffarans, who had been engaged in the grocery and liquor business in Cadiz ; his stock amounted to about $1,200; since then this business has largely increased ; he now carries a stock of about $4,000. Mr. McCain was married in 1878 to Miss Georgia Grinter, daughter of Thomas H. Grinter. She was born in Cadiz. Two chil- dren bless this union-one son and one daughter.
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