USA > Kentucky > Memorial record of western Kentucky, Volume I > Part 7
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Dr. Ray was married May 16, 1877, to Miss Sally Huges, and they are the parents of two children : Sue W., at home, and Nicholas, attending military school at Asheville, North Carolina. Politically Dr. Ray affiliates with the Democratic party, and is earnest and active in his support of the same. However, he is not a politician. His creed is that of the Presbyterian church, in which he was reared, his parents and grandparents having been worthy members of that church.
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· WESTERN KENTUCKY.
EDWIN R. COOK.
Edwin R. Cook, of Hopkinsville. Kentucky, is one of the well known and highly respected residents of Christian county, where he has lived for more than half a century. A brief review of his life gives the following facts :
Edwin R. Cook was born in Liberty, Bedford county, Virginia, April 11, 1824, a representative of a family that had lived in the Old Dominion for several generations. His father, William Cook, was born September 21, 1789, in Franklin county, Virginia, son of Benja- min Cook, also a native of Franklin county, Virginia. Benjamin Cook spent his life as a farmer in his native state. He and his wife were the parents of seven sons, two of whom died in infancy, the others being Moses, Samuel, Robert, William and Benjamin F. William Cook was a farmer and an attorney at law at Liberty, where he passed his life and died. He was a prominent Democrat, active in public affairs, and his house was a general stopping place. He married, in Campbell county, Virginia, Sarah Ottey, a native of Bradford county, that state, and they became the parents of eight children, Edwin R. being the fifth in order of birth, and the others as follows: Mary, Frances, Robert, William, Laura, Sarah and James, all born and reared in Virginia.
About the time he reached his twenty-fifth year Edwin R. Cook came to Kentucky. Shortly after his arrival here, in 1850, he married Miss Martha U. Campbell, a native of Kentucky, daughter of John P. Campbell, who was born in Orange county, Virginia, and who moved to Kentucky at an early day and located on a farm in Christian county. In the Campbell family were nine children, Mrs. Cook being the seventh in order of birth. After Mr. Cook's marriage he returned to Virginia
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and settled up his father's estate, and then came back to Kentucky and settled on a farm of five hundred acres near Hopkinsville, where for many years he carried on general farming extensively. He is now living retired in Hopkinsville.
His life of earnest and successful endeavor has gained for him a place among the leading representative citizens of the county. For sev- eral years he was a member of the board of commissioners for the Western Kentucky Asylum for the Insane. When. a young man he graduated in the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania. However, he practiced his profession for only a short time. He has been a life-long Democrat, and, fraternally, has for many years been a Mason, having membership in Lodge No. 37, F. & A. M. To Mr. and Mrs. Cook have been given a large family, eleven in number, seven of whom are deceased -- Sarah, William, Flora, Edwin R., Mary C. and two that died in infancy. Those living are Walter, James O., Frank P. and Rob- ert L., all born and reared in Christian county
JOHN B. WICKLIFFE.
John B. Wickliffe, who is engaged in the practice of law in the city of Wickliffe and is also the vice president of the Farmers' Bank, repre- sents a family of long and honorable connection with Ballard county, and it was in honor of his father that the county seat was named. Na- thaniel Wickliffe, the grandfather, was born in Nelson county, Ken- tucky, and there spent his entire life. He married Annie Logan, a daughter of Benjamin Logan, and also a member of an old and promi- nent family. For many years Nathaniel Wickliffe served as clerk of Nelson county. He was a man of wealth and popularity, and was a
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leader in public thought and action, largely molding the policy of the community by reason of his force of character and his devotion to the general good.
Colonel Charles Wickliffe, the father of John B. Wickliffe, was born in Bardstown, Nelson county, Kentucky, in 1822, where he was reared and pursued his literary education. He afterward entered the United States Military Academy, at West Point, where he was gradu- ated. Returning to Kentucky, he subsequently became a resident of Ballard county, where he was living at the time of the outbreak of the Mexican war. Offering his services to his country, he was a faithful defender of the nation during the period of hostilities with the Mexican people. When he arrived in Ballard county-then a young man-Col- onel Wickliffe purchased an interest in the Logan survey of land, took up his abode thereon, and began the development of a farm adjoining the present site of the city which bears his name. He afterward became a lawyer, and practiced at Blandville, gaining distinction at the bar as one of its most able and learned representatives in this part of the state. He was called to represent the district in the state legislature, being the first person in Ballard county elected to that office on the Democratic ticket. He was also the first county attorney of Ballard county, and was very prominent and influential in public affairs, his labors proving of value in promoting the material upbuilding and permanent develop- ment of this part of the state. He was practicing his profession with success here when the war between the north and the south was inaugu- rated, and putting aside all personal considerations he enlisted in the Confederate army and became colonel of the Seventh Kentucky Regi- ment. He was acting in that capacity and commanding his regiment when wounded at the battle of Shiloh. He never recovered from his
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injury, dying ten days later at the home of Colonel Butler, near Jack- son, Tennessee, thus giving his life in defense of the cause and the " country he loved.
In 1855 Colonel Wickliffe had married Miss Martha Eugenia Moore, a daughter of Captain John D. Moore, of Ballard county. Four children were born to them, of whom two are living: John B. and Charles, both of whom are residents of the city which was named in their father's honor. The other two children died in infancy. The mother afterward married Dr. T. J. Jenkins, a prominent physician and citizen of Ballard county, now deceased. There is but one living child of this marriage, Octavie, the wife of R. L. Scott, station agent for the Illinois Central Railroad Company at Wickliffe. For her third husband Mrs. Jenkins married W. F. Hawes, a lawyer of Wickliffe, who has also passed away. She is still living in this city at the age of more than sixty years, and is a much beloved woman, her excellent qualities of heart and mind endearing her to those with whom she has come in contact.
In Ballard county John B. Wickliffe was reared, and here he has always lived. He attended the schools of Blandville and continued his studies in Milburn, Kentucky. He began preparation for his profession in the office and under the direction of Judge Samuel H. Jenkins, at Blandville, and later at Wickliffe, when this place became the county seat. On the 4th of August, 1883, Mr. Wickliffe was admitted to the bar, and at once began practice here, where he has since been located. Hle soon formed a partnership with R. J. Bugg, and this relation was maintained until his partner's election to the circuit bench in January, 1903. Hle was admitted to practice before the supreme court of the United States in January, 1902. Mr. Wickliffe served for one term as
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county attorney of Ballard county, and in the practice of the law he has displayed marked ability, indicating thorough and comprehensive under- standing of the principles of jurisprudence, thorough and careful prep- aration of cases, an analytical mind and forceful logic.
In 1883 Mr. Wickliffe was united in marriage to Miss Lizzie B. Lockhart, a daughter of Dr. D. D. Lockhart, of Ballard county, and formerly of Davis county. He is a popular and valued member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is an ardent and active Demo- crat. In matters pertaining to the general welfare he is deeply inter- ested, and co-operates in many movements for the public good. During his long residence in the county he has gained a wide and favorable acquaintance, and he certainly merits prominent mention on the pages of western Kentucky's history.
RICHARD J. BARBER.
Richard J. Barber, magistrate and a well and favorably known citizen of Paducah, was born in Halifax county, Virginia, in December of 1839. Hlis parents were Dr. Thomas and Harriet ( Maynard) Bar- ber, both natives of the Old Dominion In 18.45 the parents removed from Virginia to west Tennessee, where the father practiced medicine and also became a prominent planter.
Here Richard J. Barber was reared. He was given good educa- tional advantages and obtained a good literary education. It was his father's desire that his son study medicine, and for a time the latter studied medicine. But the medical profession was not to his liking, while merchandising was, and at last the father consented to the son's going behind the counter as a salesman. When the Civil war came on
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young Barber espoused the cause of the Confederacy. Imbued with the true southern spirit, and loving the "sunny south" and its institu- tions, he enlisted in the Confederate army and fought gallantly through that dark and dreadful conflict between the states. In 1861 he enlisted in the Twenty-seventh Tennessee Regiment, Company F, and upon the organization of the company he was made first lieutenant. In 1862 he was promoted to the rank of captain, and for three years shared all the experiences of his regiment, one of the most active in the southern ranks. He was severely wounded at the battle of Shiloh. Two days later he reported for duty, and was again wounded, this time at Farm- ington, near Corinth, during the siege of Corinth. In 1864 Captain Barber was made a prisoner in west Tennessee and later was paroled. He then became a resident of Paducah, where he engaged in the mercan -. tile business, and was a member of the firm of J. M. White & Company, general merchants. In this undertaking he was prosperous, and for considerable time the firm did an enormous business, but Captain Bar- ber became desirous of entering the wholesale grocery business, sev- ered his connection with J. M. White & Company, and for five years thereafter was a successful wholesale grocer of Paducah. He sold his interest to his partner, and then operated on the tobacco market, part of the time as inspector. Subsequently he engaged in the life insurance busi- ness and for several years remained in that line of business, becoming one of the most successful life insurance solicitors and establishing in life insurance circles an enviable reputation. During the years spent in the life insurance business Captain Barber traveled extensively through- out many states in the interest of his business and endured many hard- ships incident thereto. Desiring a less strenuous life, he quit the life insurance business, returned to his home in Paducah, and soon after-
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ward was elected to the office of magistrate, which he has since held, gaining for himself a most complimentary reputation as a magistrate. He is familiarly known by his numerous acquaintances by the title of Major, and he is held in very high regard by all who know him.
He has been a constant reader all his life, and consequently has become a well informed man. In Masonry he is prominent, being a thirty-second degree Mason, and he is recognized as being one of the best informed on the unwritten law and history of the fraternity. In polities he is an uncompromising Democrat and is an active worker in the ranks of his party.
In the city of Paducah, in 1865, Captain Barber married Miss Mamie Anderson, now deceased. The marriage gave issue to two children, Samuel and Lucy, the latter only now living.
GEORGE W. ROBERTSON.
George W. Robertson; a retired merchant of Paducah, was born in Livingston county, Kentucky, in 1836. His parents were George W. and Martha Robertson. His father was born and reared in Ken- tricky, and his mother, though born in North Carolina, was reared in Kentucky. These parents were very early settlers of Livingston county, Kentucky. The father was a farmer by occupation, and on the farm the subject of this sketch was reared. He was given fair school advan- tages up to the age of sixteen years, when he quit the schoolroom and the farm to become a salesman in a mercantile establishment at Smith- land, the county seat, at that time one of the flourishing and most prom- ising towns of western Kentucky. He clerked only a short time, how- ever. Having a desire to visit the western frontier, Mr. Robertson
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went, in 1853. to California, where he spent two years. Returning from the Pacific coast, he located at New Orleans, and there learned photography, and for about twenty years thereafter was engaged in the photographic business. The last eleven years of that period of time he was in business in the city of Paducah.
Quitting that line of business, Mr. Robertson engaged in the gro- cery business in Paducah, in partnership with Mr. T. J. Atkins. This business was entered into in 1877, and about five years later Mr. Rob- ertson purchased his partner's interest, and for many years thereafter was numbered among the active business men of Paducah.
Mr. Robertson was married in Livingston county, Kentucky, in 1859, to Miss Anna M. Stonebreaker. Six children were born to the marriage, namely : Jefferson B., George H., Charles, Ida, Lulu and Mit- tie. Mr. Robertson has long been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in politics a Democrat. He has a large acquain- tance and is highly respected in Paducah and in his county.
JAMES HT. BREWER.
James HI. Brewer, one of the leading residents of Graves county, Kentucky, is the son of Peter and Tabitha Brewer, and was born in Wilson county, Tennessee, July 6, 1840. Peter Brewer was born in Wilson county, Tennessee, while his wife was born in Davidson county, Tennessee. The paternal grandfather was William Brewer, born in Davidson county, Tennessee, of Welsh descent, while the maternal grandfather was born in middle Tennessee of Welsh-Irish ancestry. William Brewer, the paternal grandfather, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and fought under General Andrew Jackson, participating in the
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battle of New Orleans, and one of his brothers, John, was in the Florida war of 1811. Peter Brewer was a farmer by occupation, and made his home in Wilson county, Tennessee. In politics he was a Whig, and re- ligiously was a member of the Christian church. He died when but fifty years of age, while his wife passed away in April, 1894, aged seventy-six years. Three children were born to them, namely : James 11., Sarah, deceased, and William F.
James H. Brewer lived in Wilson county until he was seventeen years of age, and then removed to Graves county with his mother, and has resided there, within six miles of the old homestead, ever since. He chose farming as his life occupation, and now owns a fine farm of one hundred and seventy-eight acres, all well improved and in a high state of cultivation. Starting out in life with no capital, he has worked his way steadily to the front, and is now one of the leading farmers of this locality. In politics he is a Democrat. In religious matters he and his wife are members of the Methodist church, while fraternally he is a member of the Masonic order. From 1880 to 1892 he served most acceptably as a magistrate, with the exception of one term intervening.
On November 29, 1850, he was married to Miss Nancy Mason. who was born in Graves county, Kentucky, and died in 1865. Two chil- dren were born of this union, namely : Mary E., who married Calvin R. West; and James I. Mr. Brewer married, in 1868, Miss Martha Craw- ford, who was born in Graves county, and they have had two children, viz. : William B., who died at the age of twenty-seven years; Onic O., now Mrs. Millard Johnson. Residing with Mr. and Mrs. Brewer is an aunt, Mrs. Fannie E. (Brewer) Pugh, the widow of John R. Pugh, who
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was born in Smith county, Tennessee, and died May 5, 1881, in David- son county, Tennessee, aged sixty years.
Mr. Brewer is noted for his hospitality and kind-heartedness, and is a man of honorable dealings, with friends wherever he is known.
JOHN W. PRITCHETT.
John W. Pritchett, who is now living retired at Hopkinsville, is a native of Hopkins county, Kentucky, having been born here January 19, 1825. He is a member of one of the pioneer families of this locality. Benjamin Pritchett, his father, was a native of Virginia, and when a small boy came from the Old Dominion to Kentucky, with his mother, her location being on a farm in Hopkins county, where he was reared. · For years he was engaged in the hotel business in Caldwell and Hopkins counties. His first wife was Mahala Berry. She was born and lived and died in Kentucky. The children of this union were six in number, four sons and two daughters, viz. : James, Mary, John W., Colby, America and Thomas W., and of this number John W. is the only one living. His second wife, whose maiden name was Menerva Bradly, bore him seven children, and by a third marriage he had two children.
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John W. Pritchett at the age of nineteen left home and went to Christian county, where . he served an apprenticeship at the tanner's trade with Harvey Harrison, his apprenticeship covering a period of three years and his only compensation being his board. Then for three years more he was in the employ of Mr. Harrison, and in 1850 he en- gaged in the tanner's business on his own account, which he continued for about twenty-six years, after which he retired and moved to Hop-
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kinsville. His tannery was located about seven miles northeast of this city.
On moving to Hopkinsville, Mr. Pritchett was engaged in the grocery business for some seven or eight years, and then for three years dealt in leaf tobacco, since when he has lived retired.
Mr. Pritchett married, in Christian county, in 1850, Miss Cora Pennington, a native of this state and a daughter of Morton Penning- ton. Mrs. Pritchett died January 13, 1897, leaving no children. Fra- ternally Mr. Pritchett is identified with the Masonic order, and has had membership in good standing in the same for forty years. He is a Democrat in politics and a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church.
GEORGE W. FARLEY.
George W. Farley, one of the leading citizens of Graves county, and a gentleman widely known and highly esteemed, is the son of William H. and Emily ( Miller) Farley, and was born in. Calloway county, Kentucky, April 14, 1848. William H. Farley was born in Virginia and his wife in Kentucky. The only information relative to his grandparents in the possession of our subject is the fact that his mater- nal grandfather was named Samuel Miller. The father of our subject was a farmer, and made his home in Calloway county from the time he was twenty years of age, to which locality he had come from Virginia. In politics he was a Democrat, while his religious affiliations were with the Methodist church. His death occurred in 1888, at the age of .. sixty years. His wife died in 1893, also aged sixty years. There were eight children in their family, namely: James H., Elizabeth, deceased; George W., Pernecia, Josiah, Rufus T., Alice, Artimiss.
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George W. Farley was reared in Calloway county and came to Graves county in 1876, but was educated in the former county. As soon as he finished his school course, he began teaching, and continued along that line for five or six years and then engaged in farming, but for the past fifteen years he has been in the tobacco business. He has one hundred and twenty acres of fine land well improved, although he started out in life a poor man, but by industry and good management he has attained his present prosperity. In politics he is a Republican. Like his father he is a Methodist and takes an active part in its good work. During the Civil war he enlisted at the age of sixteen years, in 1863, in the Union army, and was captured at Paducah by General Forrest.
In 1870 Mr. Farley was married to Miss Ann Eliza Morton, who was born in Calloway county, Kentucky, January 12, 1848. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Farley, namely : Lola, now Mrs. Eugene Horton; Norman Oziar; Worthy C .; Gertie, now Mrs. G. B. Boyd; and Elvie. Mr. and Mrs. barley are most estimable people, and the success which has attended the efforts of Mr. Farley is certainly well merited.
RODOLPHUS BURY RATLIFF.
Rodolphus Buky Ratliff, president of the First National Bank of Princeton, Kentucky, was born on Salt river, in Bullitt county, this state, November 10, 1818. His grandfather was a Virginian, and his father, Charles Ratliff, was one of the pioneers of Bullitt county, Ken- tucky, where his life was passed in agricultural pursuits, and where he died at the age of seventy-five years. In Nelson county, Kentucky, Charles Ratliff married Elizabeth Stone, a native of that county. She
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died in Bullitt county at about the age of forty-five years. They were the parents of nine children, six sons and three daughters, R. B. being the eighth in order of birth.
R. B. Ratliff at the age of sixteen left the home farm to learn a trade, and for four years worked at rifle-making in Bardstown. He now has a twenty-dollar gold piece, bearing date of 1801, which he earned by working nights after nine o'clock, while he was learning his trade. At the end of the four years he went to Shepherdsville, where he spent the next four years in making Kentucky rifles, and from there, in 1844, he came to Princeton. Ilis first eight years in Prince- ton were given to the manufacture of rifles. Then he turned his at- tention to merchandising. He ran a store, and also at the same time dealt in real estate and bought and sold negroes, horses and mules. He made money and sometimes lost it, but he believed in "Nothing ven- tured, nothing gained," and on the whole his ventures were successful. Ile had a wager of five thousand dollars on the election of Zachary Taylor for president, and won. He began his banking operations more than forty years ago, his bank being known as the Farmers' Bank. In 1861, during the uncertain times incident to the opening of the Civil war, he thought it wise to move his deposits in bank to a place of safety. Accordingly, in the dead hours of the night, he loaded one hundred and sixty thousand dollars in gold and silver from the back end of the bank into a wagon, and drove, all night and all the next day, to Russellville, landing in safety and going thence by rail to Louisville, where he deposited his treasure. Being a Union man, it was unpleas- ant and at times unsafe for Mr. Ratliff at Princeton. At one time he was compelled to leave the place and remain away for three months. He continued merchandising until 1870, when he sold his store. All
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these years he was also interested more or less in farming, and he still carries on farming operations, being the owner of four hundred acres of land. A part of this land is in the corporate limits of Princeton. Also he has other real estate here, including several dwellings which he rents.
When the First National Bank in Princeton was organized, Mr. Ratliff, being the largest stockholder, was made president, and this po- sition he has since retained, the other officers of the bank being H. M. Jones, vice president, and Edward Garrett, cashier. This bank has a capital stock of seventy-five thousand dollars and a surplus of fifty thou- sand dollars.
Mr. Ratliff is to-day ranked as the largest taxpayer in the county, and is said to have more ready cash than any other man in the county. When he started in business here at Princeton, he was not only without capital, but he was several hundred dollars in debt, and his success in life may be attributed to his own good management, his industry and his sobriety. He has never been known to drink a drop of whiskey, beer or wine in the last sixty or more years. He has been a prominent factor in the development of the county, was interested in securing its railroad facilities, and in his prime took an active part in politics. During the Civil war he was county sheriff. Ou three different occasions he was a candidate for Congress, and was candidate for state auditor on the ticket with John M. Harlan, now chief justice of the United States; and with his party suffered defeat.
Mr. Ratliff was married in 1846 to Mary J. Knight, a native of Bullitt county, Kentucky, who shared the joys and sorrows of life with him for half a century, her death occurring in 1896. To them were born six children, five sons and one daughter, viz. : Albert G., a resi-
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