USA > Kentucky > Christian County > County of Christian, Kentucky : historical and biographical > Part 5
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
JOHN C. LATHAM, whose portrait appears in this work, was born in Russellville, Logan Co., Ky., November 6, 1814. The parents, John and Nancy (Morehead) Latham, came to Kentucky from Virginia in carly life, and were married in Logan County, whence they came to Christian County about 1819. They located a short distance from Hopkinsville, where they died. John C. is the fifth of a family of seven children, but three of whom are now living: John C. and two sisters, one the widow of Charles Bradshaw, of Jefferson County, Ill., the other the widow of Maj. McGoodwin, of Danville, Ky. The subject of these lines was educated in Hopkinsville, which has been his home since the days of his boyhood. Early in life he became Deputy Clerk of the Circuit Court of Christian County, whose duties he performed for nearly four years. In 1854 he was elected to the office of Clerk of the Circuit Court, serving in that capacity for eight consecutive years. Besides being a county official he has been intimately connected with the city government of Hopkinsville for many years, filling all the more responsible positions of trust. Dur- ing his incumbency as a county officer he improved his leisure time in the study of law, and was admitted to practice, never, however, with a view to adopting the law as a profession, but that he might be the better qualified for a business carcer. . For sixteen years he was interested in mercantile business, and in 1865 was elected President of the Bank of Hopkinsville upon the organization of that institution, in which he is one of the stockholders, and of which he has since been the executive head. Mr. Latham was married June 28, 1842, to Miss Virginia Glass, daugh- ter of Dr. David and Rebecca Glass, of Hopkinsville. She was born in Virginia, but came with her parents to Christian County, Ky., in childhood. Their marriage has been blessed with three children : Jolin C. Latham, Jr., a banker of New York City, who married Mary L., daugliter of Thomas II. Allen, of Memphis, Tenn. ; Mary R. Lathamn and Charles M. Latham, the latter a merchant of Hopkinsville, who married Lou T., daughter of Col. Thomas W. White, of Hernando, Miss.
M. LEWIS was born in Christian County, Ky., on the 30th of No- vember, 1821 ; descends from two of the early families of this county- the Bryants and the family of Robert Lewis-who came here from Vir- ginia in 1819 or 1820. These men, both of whom had served as soldiers in the Revolution, settled a few miles from Hopkinsville. Soon after set-
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tling in this county, John Lewis, son of Robert, married Margaret Bry- . ant. John was a soldier in the war of 1812; was born in Virginia, July 2, 1794, and his wife, Margaret, was born August 22, 1804, in Greenbrier County of the same State. To John and Margaret Lewis were born five children, of whom the eldest is the subject of these lines. The family of John Lewis removed to Trigg County, Ky., where the father died several years ago, and where the mother is now living. M. Lewis was reared on the farm, and in early life followed the profession of teaching, later de- voting himself to the pursuits of the farm. In January, 1875, he re- moved to Hopkinsville and opened a grocery store and private boarding- house ; he is now proprietor of the Lewis House on the corner of Nash- ville and Clay Streets. IIe was married in this county in 1851, to Cas- sandra Ricketts. She was born in Christian County July 2, 1832. They are members of the Christian Church ; have had six children : Elizabeth, Willie, Ella, M. E., Hezekiah and Robert, all of whom are deceased ex- eept Elizabeth, who is the wife of Peter Owen, to whom she was married May 12, 1871. Peter Owen was born in Halifax County, Va., Novem- ber 2, 1851, and is the youngest of a family of nine children born to Thomas T. and Mary A. Owen. His parents removed to Kentucky when he was an infant, and settled in Hamby Precinct, of Christian County. Peter has been a resident of Hopkinsville since 1875, since which time he has served the city four years as Chief of Police and City Marshal, and when not thus employed has engaged in mercantile labor. Their two children are named Lewis and Nana Owen.
JUDGE A. V. LONG. One of the very early settlers of Christian County, and among those who have long since been gathered to their fathers, was Thomas S. Long, the father of Judge A. V. Long, who is now a resident of the city of Hopkinsville ; was born in this county and has lived here all his life. Thomas S. was the son of Gabriel Long, the head of an old Virginia family, and who fought for American independ- ence in the war of the Revolution. Lucy Slaughter, who became the ' wife of Thomas S. Long, was the daughter of Col. John Slaughter, who also served as a Revolutionary soldier from Culpeper County, Va. Mr. Long, on first coming to the State of Kentucky in 1803, settled in Lo- gan County, where he remained but a few years, and from there he came to Christian County probably in 1806. He was a plain, honest farmer,
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and died near Hopkinsville in the year 1826; his wife, Lucy Long, sur- vived him nearly forty years, and died in Hopkinsville in March, 1866. They had five children, of whom Judge A. V. Long is the eldest and only representative now living in the county; he has never married, but during the life of his mother devoted himself to the pleasant task of securing to her the comforts of life; he is a man of kind and generous impulses, possessed of more than ordinary mind, as well as a remarkable memory, which characteristics have rendered him of very great service to the writers of this history; his knowledge of this county is second per- haps to no one now living in it, he having made it his life-long home, and for eight consecutive years served as Judge of the County Court.
JUDGE JOE McCARROLL is a son of Charles A. and Elvira Anne McCarroll, of Christian County ; he is a native of the county, born April 6, 1848 ; he was reared to manhood on the farm, and received luis early education in the private schools of the country, and in the schools of Hopkinsville. He was thereby enabled to assume the duties of a teacher, which he did in the years 1870 and 1871, improving his spare moments meantime in the study of law. In October, 1872, he en- tered the Law Department of the Louisville University, and received his license to practice in March, 1873; he immediately began to practice in Ilopkinsville, associated with Judge W. P. Winfree, under thic firm name of Winfree & McCarroll. The partnership terminated by the election of Winfree to the Judgeship in 1882. In 1878 Mr. McCarroll was elected to the office of City Judge, which he filled with acceptability and credit for four years. Ile is ardently interested in the cause of education, and for several years has been a member of the Hopkinsville Board of Edu- eation, of which he is now the Secretary. He is an honored member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, also of the Masonic fraternity and Knights of Pythias, in both of which he has filled all of the posi- tions of honor. Mr. McCarroll was married in Henderson County, Ky., September 23, 1880, to Miss Mary T. Holloway, daughter of John Hol- loway, a deceased resident of IIenderson County, ex-member of the State Legislature, and father of lIon. William S. Holloway, present Represent- ative. She was born in Ilenderson County, May 1, 1858. They have had two children, viz .: Anne, born July 8, 1881, and John IIolloway Mc- Carroll, born July 14, 1883. Little Anne died August 23, 1884.
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RICHARD T. McDANIEL was born in Robertson County, Tenn., on the 16th day of October, 1833, and is descended from Scotch ances- tors on the father's side, and Irish parentage on the side of the mother. llis father, whose name was Joel S. McDaniel, was born in Georgia in the year 1801; the mother, Mahala McGuire, a native of same State, was born in 1804. They were married in Tennessee in 1824, and until 1837 made their home in Robertson County, removing thence to Mont- gomery County, settling near the city of Clarksville where Joel S. still lives, and where his wife died in October, 1880. They reared a family of three sons and one daughter, viz .: John W., now of Texas; Alsa, liv- ing near Clarksville; R. T. McDaniel, of Hopkinsville, and Mrs. Mary F., wife of Thomas Hoffman, of Montgomery County, Tenn. The sub- ject of this sketch came to the town of Hopkinsville, Ky., in 1851, and engaged as a salesman in a wholesale house until 1860, when he was elected to the office of Sheriff of Christian County; he was re-elected to the same office in 1862, serving with acceptance to the close of the second term. From 1864 until 1881 he was employed in mercantile business, and in the last-named year was elected to the office of County Assessor, which office he now holds with credit. Mr. McDaniel was married in Hopkinsville February 6, 1855, to Miss Sallie Lakin, daughter of Charles and Charlotte (Campbell) Lakin, the former of whom died in 1835, and the latter in 1879. They have but two descendants now living: Mrs. McDaniel, who was born in October, 1834, and Caroline E., widow of John J. Ducker. Mr. and Mrs. McDaniel are blessed with eight children : Carrie O., wife of A. M. Cooper; Charles G., Katie, a teacher in the Hopkinsville public school; Sally, Lucy, Lottie, Robert S. and John C. McDaniel. Mr. McDaniel is a member of the Hopkinsville Lodge, No. 37, A. F. & A. M.
JOIIN W. McPHERSON was born in Fauquier County, Virginia, September 18, 1826. His father, Jolin McPherson, and his mother, Sarah McDonald, both of whom were of Scotch ancestry, were each born and reared in Virginia. John W. is the youngest of a family of eleven chil- dren. He attained his majority in his native state, receiving an academic education. About 1844 he began the study of law, and two years later was admitted to practice, which he commenced in Lewisburg, Green- brier Co., W. Va. Ile continued to practice there until 1859, hav-
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ing meantime served as County Attorney for eight years. Mr McPher- son came to Christian County, Ky., in 1859, and until 1864 was en- gaged in merchandising, but in that year resumed the practice of the . law, in which he has been very successful. From 1865 until 1877 he was associated with George A. Champlin, under the firm of McPherson & Champlin. He was married in West Virginia in December, 1849, to Miss Margret A. Withrow, daughter of James and Letitia (Edgar) Withrow. She was born in West Virginia, September 22, 1828. They have had a family of six children, the eldest of whom, William C., died in 1880. Five living are: James Edgar, Jolin W., Jr., Joel D., Herbert Lee, and Mary W. McPherson. The family are members of the Southern Presbyterian Church, in which Mr. McPherson is an Elder. He is also a member of the Masonic order.
CHARLES M. MEACIIAM is the editor of the South Kentuckian, of which enterprising sheet he assumed the editorial management in the fall of 1879, becoming at the same time a part proprietor. He had for some time previous filled the position of local editor on the same paper. Hle was born in Belleview, this county, June 14, 1858, and received his early education in the country schools and those of Hopkinsville. He is a son of the Rev. A. W. Meacham, of whom a sketch will be found elsewhere in this work. In early life he gave his attention to the study of law, read- ing under the instructorship of Judge G. A. Champlin, and was admitted to the Hopkinsville bar March 15, 1879. Mr. Meacham is a young man of undoubted talents, and of high social and intellectual worth. The South Kentuckian, under his able supervision, is now issued semi-weekly, and teems with matter of a practical and high literary order, and with editorials comprehensive in grasp and vigorous in tone, disclosing his special aptitude for the work, which insures the paper a long lease of usefulness and pros- perity. In 1881 he was appointed a member of the Christian County Democratic Executive Committee, and was elected secretary of the same, which position he still retains. In February, 1884, the appointment was acceptably tendered him as a Commissioner of the Western Kentucky Lunatic Asylum for a term of six years. Mr. Meacham was united in marriage June 14, 1883, to Miss Lizzie E. Tandy, the youngest daughter of Major Charles M. Tandy, deceased, a former resident of Hopkinsville.
LUCIEN W. MEANS was born September 10, 1854, and is a son of William and Susan Means (nee Pursley). His grandfather, whose name
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was William Means, came from North Carolina to Christian County, Ky., about the beginning of the present century. He settled about seven miles south of the village of Hopkinsville, where in 1818 William Means, Jr., was born. He grew to manhood, following agricultural pursuits. Ile mar- ried Susan Pursley, near Hopkinsville, on the place now owned by Rev. Walker, and in 1843 they removed to the adjoining county of Trigg, where he served for some years as Deputy Sheriff. Mrs. Susan Means was born in 1822 and died of apoplexy of the heart, in 1875. William Means died in February, 1878. They had a family of eight children : Sarah A., wife of W. H. West of Hopkinsville; Pinkney D., who was killed at Gar- rettsburg, while in the Confederate Army; Lucy A., deceased wife of John Prince; John H., Josiah M. and James William, all of Washington County, Illinois, and Lucien W. Means, whose name heads this sketch. Besides these, one son, Samuel A. Means, died in childhood. Lucien W. Means was reared to the pursuits of the farm, received the benefits of a common school education, and though a young man is one of the leading farmers of the county, and takes especial interest in all improved methods of hus- bandry, possessing the zeal and enterprise which makes his influence felt for good in his community. He was married in this county, December 11, 1879, to Miss Myra, daughter of M. S. and II. E. Major. She was born in Christian County, October 31, 1863. They are members of the Method- ist Episcopal Church, and he is a Master Mason. Their children, two in number, are James Major and Alfred West Means.
JOSIAH R. MERRITT was born October 7,. 1833, in William- son County, Tennessee. His parents were both natives of Tennes- see, where they grew to maturity and married. The mother, whose maiden name was Mary Shannon, died several years ago, after the family had moved to this county. The father, William T. Merritt, was born on the 23d of February, 1802, and became a farmer of con- siderable note in this county, to which he removed in the fall of 1853. He then settled in Mount Vernon Precinet, of which he was for several years magistrate. Mrs. Elizabeth Sherrell (nee Titterington), became his second wife, survives him, and lives on the old homestead. William T. Merritt was an influential member in the Baptist Church, and died Oeto- ber 3, 1882. He had thirteen children, most of whom grew to maturity, and of whom three sons-Josiah R., Daniel II., and Burkett II .- now
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reside in the county. Josiah R. was educated in the Triune Academy of his native county and at the IIarmony Academy of Caldwell County, Ky. IIe came to Hopkinsville in 1861, and engaged as merchant clerk · for a few years, a business for which he possessed a peculiar fitness. About 1869 he formed a partnership in the grocery trade with F. W. Dabney, under the firm name of Merritt & Dabney, which terminated after an existence of two years. . He then engaged in the boot and shoe business which he prosecuted for four years, since which time he has been retired.
V. M. METCALFE was born November 5, 1832, in MeMinn County, East Tenn. In 1855 he married Miss Ellen Killebrew, of Montgomery County, Tenn., and lived for many years near the Christian County line, devoting his time to agricultural pursuits. In 1863 he became largely interested with his brother in a cotton manufactory in the South. At the close of the war he removed to Nashville, Tenn., to look after his cot- ton interests, where he lived until removing in 1869, to Hopkinsville, Ky., where his home has since been, and where he has been engaged in mercantile business. Mr. Metcalfe's grandfather, John Metcalfe, was the eldest of nineteen children. ITis father was killed in the Revolutionary war, leaving him the care of this large family, all of whom lived in Vir- ginia. Wishing to better the condition of the family, he, in company with Daniel Boone, Mike Stoner and others, set out for the dark and bloody ground of Kentucky, fighting their way, and often undergoing great hardships. They at last effected a treaty of peace with the In- dians, and John Metcalfe settled near Paris, Ky., in 1783. Here Charles, the father of V. M. Metcalfe, was born in 1793. In 1814 Charles mar- ried Jane Baylor Chilton, danghter of the Rev. Thomas Chilton, a Bap- tist minister of great prominence in his day. About 1832 Thomas Chil- ton, Jr., eldest son of Rev. Thomas Chilton, removed to the town of Hopkinsville, where for many years he practiced law, occasionally preach- ing for the Baptist people. Ile was finally induced to devote his entire time to the ministry. While in Kentucky he twice represented his Dis- triet in Congress, and in his day was regarded as a successful preacher, lawyer and politician. He was a very companionable man and hence very popular wherever he went. One of his brothers, Dr. Minor Chil- ton, died in 1836, at Trenton. Another brother, Dr. Lucius Chilton,
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who died in Pembroke, in 1860, was a man of more than ordinary abil- ity, having served one term in the Kentucky Legislature, and to him is largely due the location of the Southwestern Lunatic Asylum, at Hop- kinsville. Ilis first wife was a Miss Tribble, aunt of Mr. Samuel Fox, of Hopkinsville, and his seeond wife was Sarah Killebrew, a sister of Mrs. V. M. Metealfe. While Dr. Chilton was living near Garrettsburg, his aged parents from Hardin County made him a visit. One morning the old gentleman and wife, both of whom were quite feeble, started in a buggy to see a neighbor, and in erossing a branch which they thought not deep, their horse sank in quieksand ; the old gentleman was thrown from the buggy, and was drowned. A little slab on the hill near by now marks the grave of Rev. Thomas Chilton, one of the purest and ablest men of his time. The grandmother of our subjeet on his father's side was a sister of Gov. Owsley, and his maternal grandmother was a sister of Jesse Bladsaw. Thomas Metealfe, who was his great-uncle, was re- garded as one of the best Governors the State of Kentucky has ever had, on account of his high sense of honor and unflinching devotion to principle. Being a practical stone-mason, he was often called " old Stone-hammer " Metealfe. V. M. Metcalfe was educated at Alabama Military Institute and Burrett College. Though his parents gave him a good education, desiring to make a professional man of him, his taste ran in another direction. His father owning a large cotton factory in east Tennessee, he was placed in charge of the establishment, but after a few years, find- ing his health required more out-door exercise, he turned his attention to farming, at which he engaged until moving to Hopkinsville, since which time he has been actively engaged in mercantile business. IIe has been preaching regularly as a minister of the Christian Church. During the past five years he has traveled extensively in the Northern and Southern States in the interest of a fertilizer, delivering lectures on Agricultural Chemistry. Ile is blest with five sons and one daughter, the youngest about grown. His sons are among the most promising young men of the country and are noted for their sobriety and industry.
JOHN N. MILLS' father, Charles HI. Mills, was a native of Vir- ginia, born November 9, 1776, where he was reared and educated. In 1812 he came to Kentucky and settled in Fayette County, and soon after to Christian County (now Todd), and there married Miss Tabitha, daugh-
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ter of William and Valinda (Simmons) Daniel. He was a farmer, and died near Salem, Livingston Co., March 6, 1864. His wife, and mother of our subject, was born in Jefferson County, Ky., in 1795 and died about 1874. They were the parents of fourteen children, of whom the follow- ing grew to maturity, viz : Ann Eliza, deceased wife of James C. Cole- man, of Frankfort : Ellen, deceased wife of Samuel Allen; Milton H., died in Texas ; John N., the subject of this sketch ; Sarah, wife of Judge Reuben A. Rives, of the Supreme Bench of Texas; Charles, who was killed in a battle of the late Civil war ; Martha, deceased wife of R. West ; Roger Q., a prominent lawyer of Texas, the first Representa- tive at large elected to represent that State ; is now representing a District in the Lower House ; was Colonel of the Tenth Texas Regiment in the last war; was captured at Arkansas Post, carried to Camp Chase, thence to Richmond, and there exchanged; at the battle of Atlanta was seri- ously wounded and carried off for dead; Nathaniel J., who studied medi- cine under Dr. Hickman, graduated at Philadelphia, and removed to Texas, where he is now engaged in the practice of his profession. He · served four years in the Confederate Army ; Fannie, who married W. B. Yater, of Tennessee, but are now residents of Texas; Cynthia V., widow of Dr. John F. Gordon, of Crittenden County, Ky. John N. Mills was born in Todd County, Ky., December 8, 1821, and was reared on a farm, and has spent his life in the counties of Christian and Todd. On the 8th of May, 1845, he married Eliza J., daughter of Rev. Caleb N. and Jane (Browder) Bell. Mrs. Mills died in Todd County, March 6, 1863, leaving one child, Martha G., who has since died. He next mar- ried in August, 1863, Mrs. Mildred E. Lacy, widow of Drury Lacy and a daughter of Lemuel Mosely. This union has been blessed with two children, viz. : Roger Q., and Johnnie Lon. Mr. Mills is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and of the Masonic fraternity.
ROBERT MILLS was born in July, 1830, in County Tyrone, Ire- land. ITis parents, Robert and Margaret Mills (nee Knox), were both natives of Ireland, where they spent their entire lives. The subject of these lines set sail for the United States in 1846, and after a voyage of three months landed in New Orleans, where for six months he engaged as a salesman in a mercantile house. From there he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he remained until 1854, and there, during that time, he
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served his apprenticeship as a carpenter. Coming to Hopkinsville in 1854, he immediately entered upon his useful career as a builder. Since that date he has been constantly employed in his business, and perhaps no one man in the State has done a more extensive work in that line during that time. Among the many fine structures erected by him can be mentioned the two college buildings and public school building of Hopkinsville ; the public schoolhouses of Bowling Green, and most of the finer business and dwelling-houses in Hopkinsville and vicinity. In the fall of 1872, after the great Chicago fire, he went to that city, and superintended and built the block known as the Kentucky Block. Mr. Mills is still actively engaged in contracting, and gives employment to a large number of mechanics. IIe was married in Hopkinsville in 1857, to Miss Ellen C. Dunnavan, daughter of Timothy and Mary Dunnavan. She descends from Irish ancestors, and was born in 1840. They have six children, viz .: Margaret, wife of G. H. Brandon, of Tennessee ; Rob- ert Mills, Jr., an architect of Cincinnati, Ohio; Lellie, Nettie May, George and John E. Mills. Mr. Mills owns a fine farm of 210 acres adjacent to Hopkinsville, and a desirable city residence on East Russell- ville Street. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
JOHN W. MINCK came to Hopkinsville, Ky., in April, 1864, from Wilmington, Del. His parents were Lonis Minek, a native of France, and Catherine Greiner, who was born in Wurtemberg, Germany. These parents came to the United States in early life, and were married in the city of Philadelphia. They afterward settled in Wilmington, Del., where the father engaged in the butcher business: He died of yellow fever, in the city of New Orleans, in 1843, while there on business. His widow died at their home in Wilmington, Del., in the year 1854. Their family consisted of John W., Louis W. and Rosanna, the latter of whom was burned to death at the age of three years. John W. was married in Newark, Del., July 30, 1860, to Miss Hannah Catherine, daughter of Benjamin and Margaret A. Wilson (nee Caldwell). Mrs. Minek was born in Newark, Del., July 29, 1840; there her parents still reside in advanced age. Since coming to Hopkinsville, Mr. Minek has been con- stantly engaged in conducting a meat market, with business location on Court Street, and family residence on East Russellville Street. He is a
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