USA > Kentucky > Memorial record of western Kentucky, Volume II > Part 4
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JOHN SCHMIDT.
John Schmidt, one of the leading citizens of McCracken county, Kentucky, was born in this county, November 10, 1850, and is a son of George and Elizabeth ( Bauer) Schmidt, both natives of Germany, whence they came to America in 1848, settling in MeCracken county, where they lived until their death, the father dying at the age of sixty- three years and the mother at the age of seventy-three years. The father was a blacksmith by trade and followed his craft during his resi- dence in MeCracken county, living within four miles of the city of Paducah. He was possessed of many good traits of character, was a loyal and law-abiding citizen and a Christian gentleman. Both he and his wife were members of the German Lutheran church, and were uni- versally respected by all who knew them. In politics he was a Repub-
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lican. These worthy citizens had born to them a family as follows: John H., deceased, Andrew, John, William, George, Henry, Frederick, Annie and Maggic.
John Schmidt was born and reared in MeCracken county, and here he has resided all of his life, receiving a common school education and being brought up to work upon the farm. In late years he has made a specialty of gardening, and owns a well improved farm of fifty acres, on which he resides, near the city of Paducah on the Mayfield road. In politics Mr. Schmidt is a stanch Republican, and in religious matters is a member of the German Lutheran church.
In 1885 Mr. Schmidt married Miss Henrietta Hertzog, also a native of MeCracken county, and five children have been born to them, namely : Rosa, Marie, Adolph, Louise and Lillie. Mr. Schmidt is one of the respected citizens of MeCracken county, and is highly esteemed for his thrift and energy, and is honored in having made a success of his farm- ing operations.
WILLIAM SAMUEL DYCUS.
William Samuel Dycus, of Kuttawa, Lyons county, Kentucky, was born at Dycusburg, Crittenden county, Kentucky, July 5, 1857, and is a son of William E. and Martha Louise (Cassidy) Dycus. The father was born in Tennessee, and died when our subject was a child. The mother was born in Caldwell county, Kentucky, and survived her hus- band many years. These parents had three children, namely : Mollie, Frank and William Samuel.
These children were all reared at Dycusburg, which town was founded by their uncle, Berry Dycus, and they were educated in the common schools. When William was a lad of sixteen years he clerked
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in a store, continuing at Dycusburg thus engaged for four years. He resided there until 1882, having business interests in raising tobacco, farming and milling, and being a member of the firm of S. H. Cassidy & Company. In 1882 he located in Kuttawa, where he has since made his home.
In 1881 Mr. Dycus married Miss Bobbie Paine, who died in 1899, leaving four children, May Lou, Leo F., Ray B. and Catherine. Po- litically he is a Democrat, but does not aspire to office. Fraternally he is a member of the Royal Arch Masons and the Order of Elks. He is one of the leading men of Kuttawa, and has a host of warm personal friends throughout the county, where he is so well and favorably known.
JEFFERSON T. SHERRELL.
Jefferson T. Sherrell, one of the oldest and best known citizens of Paducah, Kentucky, was born in Green county, Kentucky, May 22, 1819, and is a son of William and Elizabeth (Jones) Sherrell, the former of whom was a native of Kentucky. His paternal grandfather was born in North Carolina, and after serving in the Revolutionary war settled in Kentucky, where he died, being more than one hundred years old at the time of his death. The mother of our subject was born in Warren county, Kentucky, and was a most excellent lady. William Sherrell was a horse dealer in early life. Later in life he became a shoe- maker, and followed that occupation for a good many years. His wife died in Montgomery county, Tennessee, in 1832, and the father died in Warren county, Kentucky, in 1842.
The early life of Jefferson T. Sherrell was spent in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, where he was reared and obtained a common school educa-
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tion. In August, 1846, he was united in marriage with Elizabeth San- ders, the ceremony being performed in Tennessee. After their mar- riage Mr. and Mrs. Sherrell made their home in Christian county, Kentucky, until 1848, when they came to MeCracken county, where he operated a country blacksmith shop between Paducah and Blandville till in 1850, when he removed to Paducah. In Paducah he operated a blacksmith shop until about 1875, when he embarked in a grocery busi- ness. Continuing in that line until 1881, he retired from active business and is now living retired.
Mr. and Mrs. Sherrell were the parents of two children, both of whom are living, viz. : Mrs. Mary J. Edwards and James William Sherrell, the latter of whom is a well known and successful business man of Paducah. Mr. Sherrell is a Republican in politics, but in local matters casts his vote for the man he considers the best for the office. Ile cast his first presidential vote for Henry Clay, and continued to sup- port the Whig ticket until after the war. Fraternally he is a Master Mason.
FRANCIS EUGENE GRAVES.
Francis Eugene Graves, one of the leading attorneys of Paducah, Kentucky, was born in Crittenden county, Kentucky, June 20, 1871, and is a son of William S. and Helen A. (Shelby) Graves, both natives of Kentucky, the father being born in Marion county, and the mother in Crittenden county. The paternal grandfather was William Graves of Kentucky, and the family is one of the old and aristocratic ones of the state. The father was a prominent physician, who moved from Lebanon to Clinton, Kentucky, and thence to Dycusburg, where he continued in active practice until his death in 1902, when he was eighty-
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one years of age. The mother died in 1894, aged fifty-nine years. In politics the father was a strong Democrat, and both he and his wife were consistent members of the Roman Catholic church.
Of the seven children born to his parents, Mr. F. E. Graves is the youngest now living, three having died in childhood. Mr. Graves was reared and educated in Dycusburg, and, then going to Paducah, studied law with Rhey Boyd, being admitted to the bar in 1894. In 1897 he was elected county attorney, and re-elected to the' same office in 1901, being its present incumbent, and a stanch supporter of the principles of Democracy. Fraternally he is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
CHARLES HAYS BROTHERS, M. D.
Charles Hays Brothers, M. D., of Paducah, is a native of Tennes- see. He was born on his father's farm in Rutherford county on July 13, 1850. His parents were Jackson Carroll and Margaret ( Edmond- son) Brothers, both natives of Tennessee. The father was born in Rutherford county, January 9, 1815, and lived to a ripe old age, dying in Nashville in 1897, at the home of his daughter. He was a son of John and Mary (Loftin) Brothers. His father was a native of Scot- land and emigrated to the United States with two brothers. He mar- ried Mary Loftin in North Carolina, her native state, and settled in Rutherford county. He was a pioneer of that part of Tennessee, and in those early days was a trader among the Indians, whose good will he gained and with whom he stood in popular favor. He also stood high in the esteem of his fellow citizens, and was a man of sterling qualities. By occupation he was a farmer, and lived many years in Rutherford
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county, where he died. His wife came of an old and highly respected family of North Carolina, and possessed many excellent qualities of heart and mind.
Jackson Carroll Brothers, father of Dr. Brothers, was reared upon a farm in Rutherford county and was a farmer. His wife was born in Williamson county, Tennessee, a daughter of "Blockhouse" John Edmondson, who was so called because he kept a blockhouse which served as a place of protection from the Indians. He was a native of Virginia, and his father was a prominent character of the Old Do- minion, serving several years in the state legislature. The maternal grandmother of our subject was a Miss Hays, a native also of Vir- ginia and of Irish extraction, but the Edmondson family is of English origin.
To Jackson C. and Margaret (Edmondson) Brothers were born . four sons and two daughters, of whom a son and a daughter are de- ceased. The mother passed away prior to the Civil war. She was a woman of strong force of character and transmitted her excellent traits of character to her children. The father was possessed of strong in- tellectuality and bore an important part in the development of his native county and state. To their children these worthy parents left the rich heritage of untarnished names and the blessings of well spent lives.
Dr. C. II. Brothers was reared upon the farm, and attended sub- scription schools, and then pursued the study of medicine first under his uncle, Dr. J. B. Owen, of Williamson county, Tennessee, and later in the medical and surgical department of the University of Tennessee at Nashville, whence he was graduated in March, 1872. Locating in MeCracken county, Kentucky, about ten miles west of Paducah, he began his professional career a little more than thirty years ago. All
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of this time has been spent in McCracken county. In 1890 he changed his place of residence, removing to Paducah, where he has since made his home, and he lias always enjoyed an excellent practice. For a long time he has been a member of McCracken County Medical Society and of the Southwestern Kentucky Medical Society, and has served the lat- ter as president. Fraternally he is an Odd Fellow, and has taken all the degrees in that order. Politically he is a stanch Democrat. He has never sought political preferment, but for eight years served as county physician. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and is num- bered among the best citizens of Paducah.
In 1880 Dr. Brothers was married to Miss Nellie Temple, a daugh- ter of the Rev. Dr. J. N. Temple, of the Episcopal church. Mrs. Broth- ers is a lady of culture, and both she and her husband are held in the highest esteem and respect by a wide circle of friends.
WILLIAM FRANCIS BRADSHAW.
William Francis Bradshaw, attorney-at-law, and a prominent resi- dent of Paducah, Kentucky, was born in Christian county, Kentucky, June 13, 1849, a son of Albert and Marianna ( Rumsey) Bradshaw, both natives of Christian county, Kentucky. The paternal grandfather was Edward Bradshaw, a native of Kentucky, and a son of Benjamin Bradshaw, a native of Virginia. Albert and Marianna Bradshaw were Presbyterians in religion, and they had but two children, Edward R., of Paducah, and William F.
William F. Bradshaw was only about six years of age when he came to MeCracken county, and has always made his home here. His education was obtained in the public schools and the University of
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Mississippi, from which he was graduated in 1872. Mr. Bradshaw studied law in Paducah and was admitted to the bar in 1874, and began practicing in Paducah.
From 1878 to 1882 he was county attorney; from 1884 to 1892 he was county treasurer, and commonwealth attorney of the second judicial district in 1892 and served until 1897, when he was re-elected for a second term. In politics he is a stanch Democrat, and takes an active part in local matters.
In Christian county, Kentucky, Mr. Bradshaw was married to Miss Virginia E. Wheeler, and they have two children : W. F., Jr., and Frances Elouise. W. F. Bradshaw, Jr., was born in Paducah, Ken- tucky, September 17, 1878, and educated in the city and at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, from which he graduated. He then studied law and after a year spent at Columbia University, New York, . was admitted to the bar in 1900.
In addition to his other interests Mr. Bradshaw, Sr., is director in the American-German National Bank, and is a very popular and prominent business man, attorney and politician.
MAJOR THOMAS E. MOSS.
Major Thomas E. Moss was born in Greensburg, Green county, Kentucky, March 14, 1839, and is a son of Thomas S. F. and Judith C. (Bullock) Moss, the former of whom was a native of Perryville, Kentucky. When the father was a young man he came to Kentucky, was married, and died there when about sixty-three years old. He served as captain in the war of 1812, and lived many years in Greens- burg.
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Thomas E. Moss was reared in Greensburg. His education was received in the common schools and at Columbia College, Adair county, Kentucky. In 1858 he came to Paducah to take up the study of law, later he entered the Louisville law school, from which he was graduated in 1860.
At that time he opened an office at Paducah, but the war breaking out, in 1861, he entered as a private in Company A, Second Kentucky Infantry, Confederate army, and served throughout the entire war. He was made sergeant major of the regiment soon after its organ- ization at Camp Boone, and was promoted adjutant of the regiment for gallantry soon after the battle of Fort Donelson, and in 1863 was made major of infantry. He participated in many of the important battles, and after the close of the conflict returned to Paducah and resumed the practice of his profession. In 1869 he was sent to the state legislature, and again in 1881. In 1875 he was elected attorney general for Ken- tucky and served four years, ending in 1879. Since last serving in the legislature he has declined office, devoting himself to his profession, and has won distinction as a criminal lawyer and in cases involving titles. In former years he was identified with many of the public- spirited measures of Paducah, and latterly he has not been active in public affairs on account of declining years and health.
On February 28, 1871, he married Miss Margaret A. Bright, a daughter of the late Senator James B. Bright, of Indiana. Mrs. Moss is a native of Madison, Indiana. Four children have been born to them, namely : Jesse Bright Moss, a lawyer of Paducah; Thomas E., a physician and surgeon of Woodville, Kentucky; Marie Moss Wheat, of Salt Lake City, a lawyer by profession and was the second woman
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admitted to the bar of Kentucky; Marrie Sne, who died at the age of eighteen months. Mr. Moss is a Knight Templar, and was formerly very active in that order.
LEVI N. GRAY.
Levi N. Gray, the successful farmer and dairyman residing about two miles from Mayfield, is a native Kentuckian and has passed his entire life in this state. Mr. Gray is a sterling and honored man who began life with disadvantages of a pecuniary nature, and who had to overcome the obstacles in the road of progress one by one and without any aid except providential care, and his own diligence and persistency. His early schooling was pretty well sandwiched between periods of hard work, and he started for himself by working for wages on a farm. His economy and definite purpose to acquire a home and independence gave him a substantial basis finally, and .he has ever since been farming on his own account. Nine years ago he made a serious mistake, but has overcome the blunder, and regained his independence, so that he is now one of the prosperous and esteemed citizens of Graves county.
Mr. Gray is of Irish and Scotch descent, his paternal grandfather, Isaac Gray, being of Irish stock, and his maternal grandfather, James Cunningham, being Scotch and a native of Trygg county. William C. and Penelope (Cunningham) Gray, his parents, were both born in Trigg county, Kentucky, and the former was a farmer, making his home in Trigg county till his death, which occurred in 1863, when he was thirty-five years old. He was a member of the Baptist church and a Democrat in politics. He and his wife had five children; James ; Isaac M .; Levi N. ; Sarah, now Mrs. .. E. C. Birdsong; and William C.,
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who died at the age of two years. Penelope Gray married, in 1865, Mr. Mickens Cunningham, of Trigg county, and of this union five children were born: Warren; Nellie, now Mrs. C. Birdsong; Alpha, Mrs. Will- iam Finley ; Daniel W .; Zilpha, Mrs. Herschel Coulter. The mother of these children died in 1894.
Levi N. Gray was born in Trigg county, Kentucky, January 9, 1859. He lived in his native county until he was nineteen years old, and had scarcely any education up to that time. When he was only sixteen years old he began work on a farm, with the year's stipend fixed at fifty-five dollars, and for nearly eight years after this was engaged in similar work, finally receiving as much as thirty dollars a month and board. He had inherited some three hundred dollars, and this, with his savings, enabled him at the end of eight years to buy a farm, for which he paid one thousand dollars. Three years out of the eight he lived with a great uncle, as one of the family, and as a recom- pense (besides his clothing) for two years of this service, he was sent to the public school of his district about two and a half months each winter. This closed his schooling. But instead of galloping over the neighborhood at night and on Sundays, as the ordinary hireling does, he spent much of this time in studying, reading and writing.
For the last twenty years he has been a close student of the Bible, and is a man of undaunted faith in God and the Christ of the Bible. He has taken a willing and ready interest in the Christian religion in his community, and a great interest in the spread of the gospel. Con- sidering his disadvantages and financial ability, he was perhaps the time being). He was elected the first Sunday-school superintendent, most prominent figure in the erection of a house of worship at Bethel, fourteen years ago, and was elected the first and only elder (for the
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and holds this position at present. It is claimed that this congregation has the best school of any country church in the county. Their pro- tracted meeting resulted in thirty-eight additions last summer, and nineteen additions this summer.
Mr. Gray is now the owner of a well improved, and, it is needless to say, a well cultivated farm of one hundred and twenty acres, a mile and a half from Mayfield. This proximity to the town makes his place a convenient location for a dairy, and in the spring of tyor he es. tablished one, and this branch of his farming is also running success. fully.
Mr. Gray is an adherent of the Democratic party, and he and his wife are members of the Christian church. January 20, 1887, he was married to Miss Isora Cloyes, who was born in Mayfield, May 30, 180.1. and is the daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Roxanna ( Miller) Cloyes, both born and reared in Tennessee, the former of French stock and the latter of an old North Carolina family. Mr. and Mrs. Cloyes came to Mayfield before the war, and have resided there ever since. Hle was a merchant for many years, and is a blacksmith by trade. He is seventy-seven years old, and his wife sixty-nine, and both are mem- bers of the Christian church. Five of their nine children are living. Mr. and Mrs. Gray have been the parents of eight children: Cloyes William; Lillian; Lena, who died in infancy; Herman Lce; Maurice Pryor; Alice; Mary; Penelope. Mr. Gray and his wife are highly esteemed in their community, and the success which has followed his 1 efforts has been honorably won and is well merited.
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· JOHN S. JACKSON, SR.
John S. Jackson. Sr., whose name introduces this biographical mention, is widely and favorably known throughout all western Ken- tucky. Mr. Jackson was born in St. Louis, Missouri, May 7, 1835. His parents were Samuel and Martha (Grainger) Jackson, both natives of England. Subsequent to their marriage they settled in Louisville, Kentucky, and thence removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, and later located in St. Louis. Their youth had been spent in Ohio, in which state their parents settled on coming to this country. To this couple, both of whom are deceased, there were born the following children: Wil- liam, deceased; William, of St. Louis county, Missouri; John, de- ceased ; John S .; Mrs. Annie Chandler, of Mountain Grove, Missouri ; George W., of Paducah, Kentucky; and James, of St. Louis county, Missouri. Soon after locating at St. Louis, the father engaged in the brewery business. This form of business he suspended about 1838, and for some ten years served as policeman in that city. Later he removed to a farm near St. Louis, and was farming when his death occurred, when aged about seventy years.
In St. Louis John S. Jackson was reared and educated. He learned the trade of a machinist and foundryman. Leaving that city, he landed in Paducah, September 10, 1856, where for five years, or till 1861, he was foreman in a foundry and machine shop. For two years thereafter he worked in St. Louis again, but in 1863 returned to Paducah. Soon thereafter he and an associate, Mr. Linning, es- tablished a foundry and machine shop in Paducah, and from that time to now Mr. Jackson has been in this line of business in this city.
For several years the business has been owned and conducted by
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the Jackson Foundry Company, his sons, William and John S., Jr., and Paul, being associated with him in the business. May 7, 1857, Mr. Jackson married Miss Caroline McGee, a native of Tennessee. To the marriage were born eight children, of whom three are deceased. Those living are William, John S., Jr., and Paul, who are associated in business with their father; Katie; and Harry B. The last named is an electrician of Chicago.
Mr. Jackson is an ardent Democrat, and in 1868 was elected a member of the city council, and again was elected to this office in 1874. He is a Master Mason, and also a member of the Knights of Honor. His life has been an active one, and though he began it un- der disadvantages he has led a successful career, and to-day enjoys prosperity, and also universal confidence of a large circle of acquaint- ances.
JAMES C. UTTERBACK.
James C. Utterback, a prosperous and substantial business man of Paducah, Kentucky, was born in that city, November 7, 1872, a son of Robert C. and Mary ( Eden) Utterback, the former of whom was born in Murray. Calloway county, in 1843, and died April 15. 1002; the latter was born in Mayfield, Graves county, in 1844, and died in 1891, and she and Robert C. Utterback were married in Mc- Cracken county. The father came to Paducah when a young man and became financially interested in the steamboat Ollie Sullivan, and also was prominent politically, being county assessor for six or seven years, and deputy sheriff of the county. Prior to accepting the lat- ter office he was a member of the firm of Utterback & Holland, retail grocers.
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James C. Utterback obtained an excellent early education in the public schools of Paducah, and in 1888, at the age of sixteen years, began work as a messenger in the City National Bank, of which insti- tution he is now the cashier. Step by step he was promoted, until in 1806 he was made teller and assistant cashier, and in 1899 became the cashier. In addition, he is interested in the Palmer Hotel and Kentucky Opera House, an incorporated company, and is secretary and treasurer of that concern. He is also a director and treasurer of the News Democrat Publishing Company, publishers of the leading even- ing paper of the city. In fraternal circles he is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, Knights and Ladies of Honor, and is treasurer of both lodges; is also a member of the Maccabees and Modern Woodmen. In politics he is a Democrat, and served one year as school trustee from the second ward. During his term of office he was chairman of the finance committee. Mr. Utterback has also served as a member of the state election commission, and is a member of the official board of the First Christian church, and is very prominent in that body.
In 1894 he was married to Lena Yancey, a native of Hopkinsville, and four children have been born to them, namely : Mary Ruth, who died, aged four years; J. Palmer; James C., Jr .; and Lena. Mr. Utterback is essentially a self-made man, and his remarkable success may be attributed directly to his energy and determination to carry through any enterprise he may undertake. Not only has he achieved distinction as a financier and business man, but he has made friends everywhere, and is one of the most popular men in Paducah.
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CAPTAIN JOSEPH H. FOWLER.
Captain Joseph H. Fowler is widely and favorably known among navigators of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and their tributaries, and scarcely less well known by men of business affairs in towns and cities situated on these rivers, his acquaintance extending throughout a wide territory, and he is held in high esteem by all. The Captain is a native of Kentucky, having been born in Livingston county, April 26, 1833, and comes of an old and distinguished family of that state. His parents were the late Judge Wiley P. and Arminta (Given) Fowler, the former of whom was one of the noblest of men, an able and brilliant lawyer and jurist of Kentucky.
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