USA > Kentucky > Memorial record of western Kentucky, Volume I > Part 12
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(later Ballard ) county, Kentucky, and here all of their children were born and reared. They became the parents of the following named : William, who is a resident farmer of Carlisle county; John. Henry ; James Thomas, who died in 1862 when about nineteen years of age; Aaron F., a farmer of Carlisle county ; Liburtus, Mary Elizabeth, Mar- tha, Christianberry, all deceased; Jesse Lewis, a farmer residing in Car- lisle county ; Albert Galliton, a traveling salesman ; and Daniel Boone, who is an agriculturist of this county. The father's death occurred in Bardwell in 1896, and the mother passed away in the same place about 1887, when fifty-six years of age. Numbered among the honored pioneer settlers of the county and also among its prominent and respected peo- ple, their loss was deeply deplored by their many friends.
Dr. Elsey was reared under the parental roof, and like the other members of the family acquired his education in the public schools near his home. He early became familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist, and in his youth was an active and able assistant in the work of the home farm. In early life he also en- gaged in teaching school for two years, and when twenty-four years of age took up the study of medicine, having determined to make its prac- five his life work. His preceptor was Dr. Thomas, of Bardwell, with whom he afterward practiced during the first three years of his profes- sional career. In 1875 Dr. Elsey was graduated from the medical de- partment of the University of Louisville, and since that time he has prac- ticed continuously in Bardwell. He has also been interested in the drug business here for nearly twenty years, and is the owner of a farm, on which he now lives, the place being pleasantly situated about a mile and a half from the city. He is one of the oldest physicians in Carlisle county in years of continuous practice, and has ever maintained a fore-
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most postition in the ranks of the medical fraternity, keeping in touch with the most advanced methods of practice and putting forth every effort in his power to alleviate human suffering and check the ravages of dis- ease.
In 1870 was celebrated the marriage of Dr. Elsey and Miss Mary Ellen Lovelace, who was born in Ballard county, Kentucky. They now have three living children : Pearl, Brodehurst and Erichsen. Mrs. Elsey is a most estimable lady, and holds membership in the Baptist church, while the doctor is a member of the Methodist church. His political support is given the Democracy, and, while he is deeply interested in the success of the party, he has never found time nor opportunity to take an active part in political affairs, preferring to give his entire time and attention to his practice, which is continually increasing both in volume and importance. In the line of his profession he is connected with the Southwestern Kentucky Medical Society and also with the Carlisle County Medical Society. Anything which tends to bring to man the key to that complex mystery which we call life receives his earnest at- tention and consideration, and he is quick to adopt new methods which he believes will prove of value in his work, and yet he does not discard the old and time-tried practices which have proved of great value to the profession.
JAMES BRUCE QUIGLEY.
James Bruce Quigley is the oldest native resident of Clinton, Ken- tucky. He was born in this town, February 21, 1832. His parents were early settlers here, and his father was one of the early merchants of the place, but later removed to Milburn, Kentucky, and there also merchan-
MEMORIAL RECORD OF
dised for many years, but in his latter days resided on a farm near Mil- burn, and was engaged in farming at the time of his death.
In tracing the family history of our subject we ascertain that his father, James B. Quigley, was born in Pennsylvania, and when a youth his parents, who were natives of Ireland, removed to Tennessee, where their son grew to manhood and married Martha Ogburn, who was born in Culpeper county, Virginia. She was about fifteen years of age when her parents removed from Virginia to Tennessee. From Tennessee our subject's parents removed to Clinton, Kentucky. The father was a tan- ner by trade, and operated one of the very first tanneries in the "Pur- chase." For years he operated a tannery, a shoe shop and general store at Milburn, but as already stated he farmed during the latter portion of his life. His death occurred in 1861, when about sixty-one or two years of age. His wife survived him several years, and at or near the age of eighty years and while residing with her oldest son in the city of Paducah, she passed away in death. She bere her husband the following . children : Quintus Quincy Quigley, a prominent lawyer of Paducah ; Lafayette, deceased; James B., the subject of this sketch; Henry, de- ceased ; John Gi, deceased; and Amer O., deceased. The parents were Methodists in church faith, and were respected by all who knew them.
James B. Quigley obtained a fair literary education in the Milburn Academy and Cumberland College, the latter institution being located at Princeton, Kentucky. He entered upon life's career as a merchant at Milburn, but was not in business there long. About 1858 he located in Columbus, Kentucky, and was successfully merchandising there when the Civil war came on. When the Confederate army evacuated Colum- bus and the Federal army occupied the town, Mr. Quigley, being loyal to the Confederacy, cast his lot and fortune with the southern cause.
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All of his merchandise and much other property was confiscated by the Union soldiers, and he lost all. In the spring of 1861 he became a Confederate cavalryman under command of Colonel Outlaw. For three years he rendered service in the Confederate army, and then returned to his home and family and to civil duties in life. Not long after his return he established his family in Ballard county, and engaged in farming and also owned a drug store at Milburn for a number of years. He continued to reside there till 1891, in which year he removed to Clinton, his present place of residence, and retired from active business affairs. He once served as deputy sheriff of Ballard county, and also held other minor offices.
In 1856 Mr. Quigley married Miss Nancy Merriwether, who died about two years after the marriage, leaving but one child, a daughter, Martha by name. March 27, 1861, he married for a second wife Miss Judith E. Hutchinson, a daughter of Joshua and Louise ( Moss) Hutch- inson, both of whom died when their daughter was an infant. To Mr. and Mrs. Quigley were born five children, namely, Josephine Louise; James Warren, deceased; Lizzie Bruce; Mary Sue; and Celene Kathe- lene, deceased. Mr. Quigley is a Royal Arch Mason, and both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, south, and are highly esteemed by all who know them.
HENRY WALTON DAVIS.
ITenry Walton Davis, a prominent man and representative citizen of Fredonia, Kentucky, was born in Hopkins county, Kentucky, June 22, 1865, a son of Lewis Hampton Davis, a farmer of Caldwell county, al- though a native of Hopkins county. There he was reared and married
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Tabitha Davis, also born in Hopkins county. The father has always farmed and speculated as a trader. The parents had children as fol- lows: Eolen; Richard W .; Elvira; Henry W .; Dora; and Robert-all of whom were born and reared in Hopkins county, except the youngest, who was born in Caldwell county. In 1870 the family removed to Caldwell county, locating at Princeton, where the father opened a gro- cery store and continued to operate it several years before he settled upon his farm, located five miles west of Princeton. Nearly all of the improvements upon the place were made by him. In politics he is a stanch Republican, although he has never desired office.
Henry Walton Davis remained at home until he was twenty-three years of age. Until he was eighteen years of age he attended the public schools, but at that time he entered Princeton high school and continued there for about three years. Mr. Davis began teaching school in 1885 ; he taught in Caldwell county each year save one, during which he taught in Arkansas. Returning, he taught school and farmed for several years in Caldwell county until in 1900 he located in Fredonia, which is now his home, and since that date he has been principal of the Fredonia pub- lic schools.
In 1888 he was married to Necie Elizabeth Blue, a native of Cald- well county, born in 1872, and a daughter of William Blue, a native of Caldwell county, a son of John Blue, one of the pioneers of the county. The mother of Mrs. Davis .was Eloise Guess, a native of the same county as her husband, and she bore him three children, namely : Mrs. Davis, Kearney and John, all born and reared in Caldwell county. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Davis, namely : Nellie, Walton, Clay, deceased, Lyman and Eloise, all born and reared in Caldwell county. Mr. Davis is a Democrat in politics and takes an active part in
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local affairs. He was appointed city judge of Fredonia in the spring of 1903, and is the present incumbent of this office. He is a member of the Baptist church at Fredonia, while fraternally he is connected with the Woodmen of the World.
JOHN CHOICE.
John Choice, one of the highly respected agriculturists of Paducah, Kentucky, was born in McCracken county, Kentucky, November 30, 1861, and is a son of Edwin and Martha ( Myers) Choice, natives of Virginia and Tennessee, respectively. The paternal grandfather was Tully Choice, a native of Virginia, while the maternal grandfather, Thomas Myers, was born in Tennessee. Edwin Choice settled in Mc- Cracken county, Kentucky, from Virginia, in 1840 and engaged in farm- ing. Politically he was a Democrat and took an active interest in local affairs. His death occurred in 1892, when he was sixty-six years of age. The mother died in 1892 aged fifty-five years. The children born to these worthy people were as follows: Ella, who married R. C. Pot- ter, a well known farmer of McCracken county; John; and Linn, who is a farmer of McCracken county.
John Choice was educated in MeCracken county, and during his younger days was one of the popular teachers of the county, and was also honored with election to various offices on the Democratic ticket. In 1893 Mr. Choice married Cora Stanly, a daughter of Robert Stanly. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Choice are as follows: Tully, Hallie and Nina. Mr. Choice is now a prosperous farmer of this locality, and has reached his present position through untiring effort directed along legitimate lines. During his operations as a farmer Mr. Choice has made many friends, and has the confidence of all who know him.
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JAMES EDWARD COYLE, M. D.
James Edward Coyle, M. D., until recently a prominent and suc- cessful physician and surgeon of Paducah, Kentucky, was born in Cook county, Texas, January 14, 1862, a son of James Dedrick and Martha (Greene, Thompson) Coyle. The former was born in Arkan- sas, of French and Irish lineage, and the latter in Tennessee, a mem- ber of an honorable old family of that state, of English extraction. The parents were married in Texas, whence they removed, at the close of the Civil war, to southern Illinois. James Dedrick Coyle served four years in the Confederate army during the Civil war, and lived the re- mainder of his life in western Texas and Indian Territory. He was a stockman by profession, and died at Antioch, Indian Territory, in March, 1900.
Dr. Coyle was left motherless at the age of nine years and was reared by his maternal grandfather, a farmer in southern Illinois. His educational opportunities were very meager, and he was reared to farm work under the discipline of a strict grandparent. An accident which happened to him on September 11. 1881, being wounded by a knife in the left knee, changed the whole current of his life. For two years he was disabled for labor, and thus found a chance to cultivate his mind. Upon recovering the use of his knee, although it has never been completely restored, he attended school and applied himself to such good effect that he secured a teacher's license and taught for four winters in his neighborhood. The medical profession attracted him, but a want of means seemed for a time to precluide his pursuing it. However, he found in Dr. W. W. Stevenson, of Cairo, Illinois, not only a friend, but a preceptor, and by him he was prepared for college, and
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in 1892 graduated from the medical department of the University of Tennessee at Nashville.
Dr. Coyle located for practice at Jordan, Fulton county, Kentucky, and remained there until August 20, 1898, when he came to Paducah. Ilis close attention to the duties of his profession gained him the confi- dence of the public, and he each year became more closely identified with the citizens of this city, who found in him a skilled surgeon and a careful and capable physician. He enjoyed the most cordial rela- tions with brother practitioners, and is a member of the Southwestern Kentucky Medical Society, the MeCracken County Medical Society and the Kentucky State Medical Society, and holds fraternal relations with the Knights of Pythias and the Odd Fellows. In political sympathy he is a Democrat. He moved to Shawnee, Oklahoma, the 20th of May, 1903, and is there engaged in a busy practice.
On January 10, 1894, Dr. Coyle was married to Miss Emma Weil, who is a daughter of Louis and Augusta ( Miller) Weil, who were natives of Germany. Mrs. Coyle was born at Cairo, Illinois. She was left an orphan in childhood and was reared in the home of Andrew Lohr, of Cairo. The three children born to Dr. and Mrs. Coyle are : Martha Margaret, Edward Weil and Enna Louise.
HARRY J. MOORMAN.
Harry J. Moorman, of Mayfield, is one of the ablest lawyers and most prominent men of the first judicial district of Kentucky, and for six years he has capably and efficiently served as commonwealth's attor- ney for his district, to which office he was elected as the Democratic candidate, in the fall of 1897, He also served as county attorney of
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Graves county two terms, extending from 1886 to 1894. In these posi- tions his services met the most sanguine hopes of his many friends, and reflected credit upon those by whose suffrage he was honored and upon himself as well. Never derelict of duty, his fidelity as a public official was no less manifest at all times and on all occasions than was the excellence of his services. As a guardian of the public safety from lawbreakers and as the prosecutor of the lawless and criminal of the district, his record was such as to place him among the ablest who have held these offices.
In reviewing the life record of this able lawyer and worthy citi- zen, we discover that he had not the best of opportunities in early life, that he was thrown entirely upon his own resources when a youth, and that inasmuch as he has steadily forged his way to the front rank, he deserves much praise for the success he has achieved. His mother died when he was a child of two years, and he was but twelve years of age when his father died, and then he was taken into the home of his maternal grandparents, where he remained till he was eighteen years of age. He then worked for wages on the farm till he was twenty-one years of age. Hle had been reared on the farm, and as a farm lad learned the most valuable of lessons, that of industry and perseverance, which traits of character have been uppermost in his career. In the coun- try schools he gained his preliminary education. He then attended Litchfield College, Litchfield, Grayson county, Kentucky, one term, and then the Owensboro Baptist College, at Owensboro, Kentucky, one term. He then read law under his uncle, Judge W. T. Owen, of Owens- boro, one year, and in 1874 was admitted to the bar. Immediately thereafter he began the practice of his profession at Calhoun, McLean county, Kentucky, where he remained until the fall of 1875, when he
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decided to go to Missouri. He was induced to locate at Charleston, that state, where he practiced his profession till his health became so im- paired as to warn him of the danger of remaining in that malarial dis- trict. So, accordingly, he left Charleston, and in February, 1878, located in Mayfield, Kentucky, where he has continued to reside and practice his chosen profession. Not long after locating in Mayfield he had gained a good practice and won the confidence of the public, and ever since he has maintained a good and respectable clientage and steadily risen in his profession, as well as in the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens.
Mr. Moorman was married in 1877 to Miss Sallie Scoggins, of Mayfield. She was born and reared in Graves county, Kentucky. Her father was the late James W. Scoggins. Five children have been born . to Mr. and Mrs. Moorman, two of whom, a son and a daughter, died in childhood. The surviving children are : Hallie J., Mary L. and Kath- leen. Both Mr. and Mrs. Moorman are members of the Missionary Baptist church, and their home is celebrated for its generous hospi- tality.
Politically Mr. Moorman has always been a true and stanch Demo- crat. Fraternally he is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Beside the practice of the law, he is also interested in farming, and owns one of the finest farms in the famous tobacco-growing county of Graves. Mr. Moorman never withholds his support from those measures that tend to the public good, and as a public-spirited and progressive citizen, as an able lawyer, a capable public official, a loyal citizen and faithful friend, he is entitled to the high esteem in which he is held by all who know him.
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CHARLES REED.
Charles Reed, known far and near as the popular and successful hotel proprietor of the Palmer House, at Paducah, Kentucky, was born November 4, 1842, at Paducah, and is a son of William HI. and Eliza- beth (Segenfelter) Reed. His father was born in Virginia and came to Paducah in young manhood. The mother of our subject was born in Germany. The father died when his son was a child, and in 1862 the mother also passed away, leaving him an orphan, the sole member of the family. William H. Reed was a contractor and builder by trade, and both he and wife were estimable people, who had a wide circle of friends on account of their many excellent qualities of head and heart.
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Charles Reed was educated at Paducah. At the outbreak of the war, in 1861, although a lad in years, he entered the Confederate army and served faithfully through the war. He enlisted in the Third Ken- tucky Infantry, under General Tihhnan. His company was subse- quently mounted, and did effective service under that gallant cavalry leader, General Forrest.
At the close of the war, Mr. Reed returned to Paducah and soon became engaged in a liotel business, first as proprietor of what was then known as the European House. In 1876 he became proprietor of the Richmond House, and this he controlled as the leading hostelry of the city, until 1892, when he became proprietor of the Palmer House. This was a new house, just constructed by the Palmer House Company, of which company Mr. Reed was one of the organizers and a member. This hotel is a handsome, modern structure, of four stories and con- taining one hundred and sixteen rooms. It is a well conducted and
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luxuriously furnished hotel, and under Mr. Reed's management has become one of the most popular hostelries of the south. The cost of the house approached one hundred and thirty five thousand dollars, and at the same time the company erected a first-class theater building, named "The Kentucky."
Mr. Reed has been a successful business man, and he has also become prominent in political life as a Democrat. From 1881 to 1889 he acceptably served Paducah as mayor, and at present is president of the city board of councilmen. He is a leading Mason, Knight Temp- lar and Odd Fellow. February 9, 1868, he married Miss Jessie B. Wood, whose death occurred in 1890. She left one daughter, Emma . L. Mr. Reed has shown indomitable energy in the conduct of his affairs, and owes his success and popularity to his own efforts.
HON. EDWARD CROSSLAND.
Hon. Edward Crossland was one of the ablest lawyers, most pro- found jurists and statesmen of Kentucky. He was born in Hickman county, Kentucky, June 30, 1827, and died at Mayfield, Kentucky, his home, September 11, 1881. His parents were Samuel and Elizabeth ( Harry ) Crossland, who were born, reared and married in South Caro- lina, whence they came to Kentucky in 1820, becoming pioneers of the Jackson Purchase.
Their son, Edward, was reared on the farm, amidst pioneer scenes and environments. He gained a fair education, and farmed for a few years after leaving school. He became the first sheriff of Hickman county after the adoption of the constitution of 1850. He studied law under the direction of Colonel Bowmar, and after being admitted to the bar began his professional career as an associate of Colonels
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George W. Silvertooth and W. D. Lannon. From 1857 to 1859 he represented Hickman and Fulton counties in the Kentucky legislature. In 1861 he cast his lot with the Confederacy by enlisting in the First Kentucky Regiment, then' under command of Colonel Blanton Duncan and afterwards under Colonel Thomas H. Taylor, of Louisville. He was commissioned captain of his company in Virginia, and served in that capacity one year, when he was promoted to the rank of major, and later to that of lieutenant colonel. Upon the disbandment of the regiment he was assigned to duty as colonel of the Seventh Kentucky Infantry, then in Mississippi, and was in command of the Kentucky brigade with Forrest's cavalry when the war closed.
After the close of hostilities he returned to the practice of law in the first judicial district, his home being at Clinton, Hickman county. In 1866 he was elected judge of the common pleas court of his district. This office he resigned in 1871, and was elected to Congress from the first district of Kentucky, and, being re-elected to Congress, he served two terms, closing in 1875, when he resumed the practice of law at Mayfield, Kentucky. In 1880 he was elected circuit judge of the first judicial district, and served on the circuit court bench until his death. In politics he was a Democrat and fraternally a Mason.
Ile was deeply cherished in the affections of the people, and his popularity was based upon their unbounded confidence in his ability and integrity. The people understood him, and they loved him because he loved them, and because every pulsation of his heart was in unison with their interests. He had a faculty of seeing things as the people saw them, his thoughts and emotions came from the ready mold of his genius, glowing and commending their own worth to everyone who listened to his words. In this respect he was a born orator. In the
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quickness of his perceptions and the rapidity with which his conchi- sions were reached he had few equals. His firm and deeply grounded principles of truth and honor and patriotism fortified him against the errors and vices of the mere political demagogue. His affections were high and pure and generous, and chief among his traits of character was charity. In him charity of thought, word and deed was one endur- ing and overpowering enthusiasm. As a soldier he was brave to reck- lessness of his own life, but the wounding or death of any of those under his command affected him to tears. In his death, his county, district and state lost one of its purest and ablest jurists. He was always kind, courageous, self-sacrificing and devoted. He was a soldier, a lawyer, a jurist, a statesman and a citizen, as well as a hero and pa- triot.
Upon his death the Graves county bar adopted the following reso- lutions :
"That in the death of Judge Edward Crossland the people of the first judicial district have been deprived of the services of an eminent and impartial judge; of a lawyer of extraordinary industry, fidelity and ability ; sound in judgment and unblemished in integrity.
"That Graves county has sustained a calamity in being deprived of one of her ablest and most highly gifted citizens, who was kind, generous and hospitable and brave, with a heart alive to every noble and magnanimous impulse-whom the people of our own country de- lighted to honor."
In 1846 Judge Crossland married Miss Mary Hess, born in Tren- ton, Tennessee, a daughter of Nelson 1. and Adeline ( Northcutt) Hess. Her father lived in Trenton, Gibson county, Tennessee, and was a physician and also a minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian church,
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