Biographical and historical memoirs of Mississippi, embracing an authentic and comprehensive account of the chief events in the history of the state and a record of the lives of many of the most worthy and illustrious families and individuals, Vol. II, Part 123

Author: Goodspeed Brothers
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed
Number of Pages: 1314

USA > Mississippi > Biographical and historical memoirs of Mississippi, embracing an authentic and comprehensive account of the chief events in the history of the state and a record of the lives of many of the most worthy and illustrious families and individuals, Vol. II > Part 123

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

783

MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI.

mother, with her family of children, came on to Henry county, where the children all grew to maturity, and where, in 1836, Mr. Sinclair married Miss Nancy Broach, an estimable lady, who bore him six children, two sons and four daughters. Five of these children are now liv- ing, one son having died while attending the state university. In 1879 Mrs. Sinclair died, having lived a Christian life, and being at the time of her death a member of the Primitive Baptist church. Mr. Sinclair has been a member of the Primitive Baptist church since 1831, and has lived an honest, upright life, and one worthy of imitation. His honesty and truth- fulness are proverbial, and he has made the Golden Rule a part of his life. Before the war he owned and operated a large plantation, but during that eventful period everything was swept away, and he began, though an old man, with energy to retrieve his fallen fortune. He has been successful, and is now the owner of a good plantation only two and a half miles from town, and attends to the management of it in person.

William R. Sivley is a Hinds county Mississippian, born on July 23, 1843, the second of five children born to Rawley and Eliza H. (Burleson) Sivley, the former born in Hunts- ville and the latter in Decatur, Ala. The father was reared and educated in his native city, but in 1841 became a resident of Hinds county, Miss., and here resided on a plantation until his death in 1887, at the age of eighty-one years. ' His widow; who survives him, is seventy- one years of age and is residing on the old homestead. Rawley Sivley was successfully, engaged in agriculture and at the opening of the Civil war was worth about $250,000. Not only was he one of the most prosperous and enterprising of the planters of Hinds county, but he was also one of her most enterprising and public-spirited citizens. He was a son of Andrew and Rebecca (Denton) Sivley, who were born in Virginia and Tennessee respectively, and from his paternal ancestors, who settled in Virginia at an early day, he inherited Dutch and Welsh blood. The maternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, Jonathan Burle- son, was a native of Tennessee. This was one of the first families to settle in Alabama, and perhaps there is not a family in the state that has done more to develop its resources than the Burlesons. They are a numerous people and at the present time number about four thousand members in the United States, some of whom have been the ablest statesmen of the South, eminent divines and professional men. Among the latter may be mentioned Dr. Rufus C. Burleson, president of Baylor university of Waco, Tex., in which state the Burle- sons have taken an important part in every great era for the past fifty years. This family have been the Indian fighters and pioneers of civilization, and during the Revolutionary war seven brothers, sons of Aaron Burleson, who came from Wales and settled in North Carolina in 1726, assisted the colonists in their struggle for liberty, four of whom were killed dur- ing the war. William R. Sivley was brought up in Hinds county and was educated in Clinton college. The war came on when he was about eighteen years of age and with the zeal that has ever characterized those of his race, and with the enthusiasm of youth and the native Southerner, he left school to take up arms in defense of his home and country. In 1861 he enlisted as a volunteer in company E, of the Third Mississippi regiment, with which company he remained two years, participating in the siege of Vicksburg and Baker's creek. In 1863 he was transferred to company C, Balantine's cavalry regiment, Armstrong's brigade, and was a participant in the battles of Franklin, Nashville, Atlanta, Peach Tree creek and the Ten- nessee campaign, surrendering at Demopolis. He was twice taken captive but was never a prisoner over ten days at a time. When the war closed he returned to his Mississippi home only to find his father's plantation laid waste and in a desolate and discouraging condition. With the same courage which he had displayed on the field of battle, he at once took upon himself the burden of repairing the broken fortunes of the family, and for four years there-

784

BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL

after assisted his father by every means in his power. In 1869 he purchased a plantation near where he now lives, and as he has devoted his attention to this calling ever since, and is a shrewd and far-seeing man of business, he is now the owner of four thousand acres of land of which about two thousand are under cultivation. He is also the owner of fine property in Oakley, where he lives and conducts a large mercantile business. He erected him a beautiful home at Oakley in 1884, which is one of the handsomest in the county, conveniently and beautifully arranged and fitted up with all the modern conveniences and luxuries. His plantation, Oakley, was named by his wife and is one of the finest and best tilled places in this section of the country. Mr. Sivley believes in land being self-supporting, and as a means to this end, raises a diversity of crops and vegetables and sufficient stock to supply them with meat throughout the year. He owns stock in some of the most firmly established banks of the state, is very public-spirited and is liberal and generous in the use of the wealth he has so honorably earned. His contributions to churches, charitable institutions and to the cause of education are generous, and he has ever been a friend to the poor and needy. He is a fine-looking gentleman and is a very entertaining and agreeable conversationalist. He was united in marriage in 1866 to Miss L. J., daughter of Dr. Young and Mary A. (Gray) Stokes, natives of Virginia and Alabama respectively. Mrs. Sivley was born in De Soto county, Miss., and is the mother of three children: Emma S., now the wife of Dr. Rhodes, of Learned, Miss .; Clarence L., and Lena R. The mother of these children is a worthy member of the Presby- terian church, and Mr. Sivley is a member of the A. F. & A. M., the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of Honor.

Dr. J. J. Slack, physician and druggist, Friar's Point, Miss., the second of three children born to Rev. William M. and Sarah (Johnson) Slack, owes his nativity to Madison county, Tenn., where his birth occurred in 1848. His parents were natives of Ohio and Tennessee, respectively. The father was a Baptist minister and physician, studied medicine at Louis- ville, Ky., and later settled at Denmark, Tenn., where the subject of this article was born. His father soon gave up medicine, and devoted his time to teaching a classical school, first at Belmont, and afterward at Denmark, where he remained in charge of a high school for eight years. In 1853 he came to Pontotoc, Miss., and became the president of the Mary Washing- ton college, filling that position successfully for four years, having also the care of the Baptist church at that place, which he retained for more than twenty-three years. He then embarked in commercial pursuits, which he continued until the second year of the war, then resuming the practice of medicine for two or three years, after which he, with the assistance of his wife, opened the Baptist Female college, of which he made a complete success, continuing it for nearly sixteen years. This school was one of the first educational institutions in the state, and from it went out many teachers, building up colleges of their own, such as Blue Mountain college, Houston Normal and Slate Springs school, all of Mississippi. On account of failure of his voice, Rev. W. L. Slack gave up his school, and removed to Friar's Point, Miss., in 1881, where he had considerable interest in cotton planting, and engaged in the mercantile busi- ness. After a few years of retirement he went to Memphis, and assumed the care of Rowan Baptist church. Dr. J. J. Slack was reared in Pontotoc, Miss., from the age of five years, and received good educational advantages prior to the war, but during the continuance of the unpleasantness had very little opportunity for study, on account of there being no schools during the chaotic condition of the country. In 1865, though only sixteen years old, he began the management of a drug business for his father, which, under his careful handling, grew to be quite an extensive mercantile establishment in a few years. Realizing now the value of an education, he at once commenced a course of private study after business hours

785

MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI.

and at night, continuing it under many difficulties, until after several years of hard study he completed a full collegiate course. In 1867, in addition to his other studies and his extensive business engagements, he commenced the study of medicine, and continued it with unremitting assiduity for about ten years, but without an opportunity to attend college, on account of his business cares. In 1870 he was admitted as a partner in the business with his father, which was successfully continued until 1878, when the partnership was dissolved. Dr. Slack then came to Friar's Point, Miss., where he immediately opened a drug business, commencing January 1, 1879. Three years later, or in 1882, he finished his medical course, graduating at the well and favorably known Kentucky School of Medicine, at Louisville, having taken a special course each in diseases of women, gynecology, surgery and microscopy, which branches he intended to practice as specialties. His practice has been entirely satis- factory. In his drug store Dr. Slack dispensed entirely with the sale of all kinds of spirit- uous liquors, wines and brandies, and added in place jewelry, watches, clocks and fine watch repairing, thereby freeing his business from all the objectional features of retailing liquors, and has therefore organized a new departure by adding to the full line of drugs, medicines, paints, oils, glass, etc., a complete jeweler's stock, and has the best equipped repair depart- ment in any town of its size in the entire state, employing two skilled watchmakers con- stantly. In the whole list of professions there are no two usually kept distinct that admit of more satisfactory blending than that of physician and druggist, hence an appreciative public recognizes the benefit of the amalgamation, and favors the establishment of Dr. Slack in its dual capacity. The Doctor was married in 1871 to Miss Annie Suddoth, a native of Friar's Point, and the daughter of John A. Suddoth, one of the pioneers of the Mississippi delta. Mrs. Slack died early in 1878, leaving two daughters: Emma and May, the first since mar- ried to Mr. F. D. Robinson, one of the most progressive merchants of Friar's Point. The Doctor's second marriage occurred in October, 1879, to Miss Emma Suddoth, a sister of his former wife, and to this union have been born two children-a son and a daughter: Aylmer and Vera. Dr. Slack is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of Honor. He is president of the Friar's Point Building and Loan association (a live local investment company, which recently declared a dividend on its stock of thirty per cent.), a director in the Friar's Point Box and Woodwork factory, and is a stockholder in the bank. He bought the former residence of Governor Alcorn, which he tore down, and on its site erected a nice home. He has been engaged in cotton planting to some considerable extent, but has no desire to continue it longer, though he has a small farm near town. The Doctor is pleasing in manners and address, is of medium size, with dark hair, eyes and beard.

William David Sledge was born in La Grange, Tenn., on the 30th of June, 1837, and is the eldest of six surviving children born to the union of Norfleet R. and Catherine E. (Jones) Sledge, natives of North Carolina. The father removed to La Grange, Tenn., when a young man, married there, and in 1838 went to Marshall county, Miss., where he remained until 1847. From there he went to Panola county, settled at what is now known as Old Sledge- ville, where he was engaged in merchandising and planting very extensively. In 1868 he located at Como, embarked in business there, and there continued until his death, in 1881. Since that time the business has been perpetuated by his three sons, W. D., N. R. and O. D., who had for some time been associated in business with him. Mrs. Sledge received her final summons in 1884. Mr. Sledge was prudent and temperate in his habits, was a man of excel- lent judgment, and was one of the most successful business men in the state. At the break- ing out of the war, he was worth over $500,000, all of which he had made himself. His eldest son, William David, was reared in Panola county, and received all his schooling before

786

BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL

fourteen years of age, for, after that, he was in his father's store at Sledgeville, until twenty years of age. He was then married to Miss Mary J. Brown, a native of Mississippi, and the daughter of Joshua T. and Clara (Grady) Brown, natives of Tennessee. To Mr. and Mrs. Sledge have been born five living children: Joshua T., now engaged in merchandising and planting at Redfork, Ark; Ruffin F., engaged in the same at Duncan, Miss .; Joseph B., at Duncan with his brother; Katie Lee, now Mrs. Ernest Taylor, of Como, and Sallie W., attend- ing school at Memphis. After marriage Mr. Sledge began planting, and continued this until 1869, when he went into business with his father at Como, but at the same time continued his planting interests. In 1862 he enlisted in the Confederate army, company F, 28th Missis- sippi cavalry, but remained with this only four months, when he was discharged on account of physical disability. He was in no regular engagement, but participated in several sharp skirmishes. Mr: Sledge has been president of the board of supervisors for some time, and is one of the most prudent, clear-headed men in the county. His life has been a quiet, unas- suming one, but marked with success and active business enterprises. The three brothers are associated in almost all business matters. Mr. Sledge now owns about four thousand acres of land, most of which is open land. He is largely interested in business at Memphis, under the firm title of Sledge & Norfleet, cotton commissioners, and has business enterprises at Lula, Mas- todon and Como. He has an elegant home in the latter place, and considerable real estate in the county. His first wife died in 1887, and he was married again in 1888 to Mrs. Bessie N. Cruse, a native of Alabama, and the daughter of Dr. Newman, of Huntsville, Ala. Mr. and Mrs. Sledge are members of the Episcopal church, and are highly respected in the neighbor- hood.

Norfleet R. Sledge, merchant, Como, Miss., was the second child born to N. R. Sledge, Sr. (see sketch of W. D. Sledge), his birth occurring in Marshall county, Miss., on the 25th day of January, 1839, and was reared in Panola county, having moved with his father there when about eight years of age. He attended the University of Oxford, graduated in 1857, and afterward returned home, where he remained until 1861. He was then married to Miss Catherine E. Jones, a native of Mississippi and a daughter of F --- and Pauline J. (Moore) Jones, natives of North Carolina. In 1862 Mr. Sledge enlisted in the Confederate army, company F, Twenty-eighth Mississippi cavalry, and was soon after made lieutenant of the company. He served a considerable portion of his time as adjutant and was finally pro- moted to the captaincy, in which capacity he was serving when he was captured while - covering General Hood's retreat from Nashville, Tenn. He was taken to Fort Delaware and retained until June, 1865. He participated in the battles of Murfreesboro, Franklin and others. While he was never wounded he had two horses shot from under him and was a daring and fearless officer. After being paroled he returned home, engaged in business with his father, and was the first one of the sons thus associated with the father, the firm name being N. R. Sledge & Co., until the other two brothers entered the copartnership, when it became N. R. Sledge & Sons. This continued until 1881, when the brothers bought the father's business and it became Sledge Bros., in which it is now conducted at Como. Mr. Sledge is also interested in the same business, of Sledge & Norfleet, in Memphis and at Lula and Mastodon, Miss. At Lula, Mr. Sledge and his brother, O. D., own a large tract of land and raise about one thousand bales of cotton on it annually. Mr. Sledge is the owner of about five thousand acres of land, much of which is under cultivation; is also the owner of considerable real estate in Como, and owns a very handsome residence between Memphis and Grenada. In business circles Mr. Sledge stands forth as an honorable and conscientious merchant, and as a citizen he is thoroughly respected and esteemed. His first wife died in

787

MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI.

1880, leaving two children: Inez, who graduated from Ward's seminary, Nashville, Tenn., with highest honors over a class of fifty-seven when but seventeen years of age, and who the following summer, in company with Miss Clara Conway, of Memphis, made a trip to Europe, visiting London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna and other noted cities of the old world. In 1888 she was united in marriage to Dr. M. Campbell, superintendent of the East Tennessee asylum for the insane, and is now the mother of two interesting children: Lucille S. and Michael. Norfleet F. is now with his father in the store. In 1882 Mr. Sledge selected his second wife in the person of Miss Lucille Merriwether, a native of Mississippi and a daughter of James and Lucy Merriwether, natives of Georgia. To this union have been born two children: Olivette and N. R. Mr. Sledge has been a director of the Mississippi & Tennessee railroad, and is now a director of the Illinois Central railroad. Though often solicited by his numerous friends to become a candidate for office he has always declined, preferring his business at home. He owns stock in the Union and Planter's bank of Memphis, Tenn., and many other good business enter- prises. Of thorough business capabilities and moral sentiments, his career has been one of modesty and yet activity. A promoter of all that is good, he brings into practice the virtues taught, and thereby commends the respect of all he meets in a business or social way. He is a liberal contributor to all religious and benevolent institutions, and is a whole-souled, pleasant, agreeable gentleman to meet.

O. D. Sledge, a prominent business man of the county, owes his nativity to Marshall county, Miss., where he was born in October, 1840, and is the youngest member of the well known firm of Sledge Bros. He was reared in Panola county, but received the principal part of his education in Florence, Ala. He espoused the cause of the Confederacy, and in 1861 he enlisted in the army, participating in the battles of Shiloh, Corinth and Fort Pillow, where he was wounded and disabled for about six months. As soon as able he joined General Forrest's cavalry, with which he remained until the close of the war, surrendering at Selma, Ala. He returned home and superintended his father's planting interests until the partner- ship with his father was formed, and then he and his brothers became interested in that busi- ness. In 1874 Mr. Sledge was married to Miss Dora Jones, a native of Mississippi, who died in 1886, leaving one child, Oliver Lee, who is now attending school at Sewanee, Tenn. In 1888 Mr. Sledge was married to Miss Mattie L. Brahan, a native of Mississippi, and a daugh- ter of Col. John C. Brahan. Mr. Sledge is associated in business with the other brothers, and owns about as much property as either of the others. He and wife are esteemed mem- bers of the Episcopal church, and he contributes liberally to all laudable enterprises. He is an excellent business man, and is an adept at making money, as are also the other brothers. He has a happy, contented disposition, and is universally esteemed.

W. B. Sloan is the genial and popular clerk of the circuit court of Tate county, Miss., but is a native of Mecklenburg county, N. C., where he first saw the light of day August 13, 1835, being the third child born to John and Dovey (Barry) Sloan, also of that state and county. Finishing his education in the county of his birth, he turned his attention to busi- ness, but gave it up to enter the army, enlisting in May, 1861, in company B, Twenty-third North Carolina infantry, under Capt. George W. Seigle. Entering as sergeant of his com- pany, he was promoted the second year of his service to second lieutenant, winning an honor- able discharge at the close of the year on account of a wound received at the battle of Seven Pines. He was also in the engagement at Williamsburg. Mr. Sloan took up his residence in Coldwater in 1870, where he now resides in his own comfortable home. He was appointed and filled the office of deputy chancery and circuit clerk of his county two years-1875 and 1876. In May. 1878, he was elected mayor of the town of Coldwater, which office he filled

788

BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL

for two years, at the expiration of which term he declined a re-election, on account of other business which occupied all of his time and attention. He was elected to the office which he now holds in 1883, serving with such merit that he was re-elected in 1887 without opposition. He is a generous, warm-hearted gentleman, and is a great favorite in local society, being a member of the Presbyterian church and the A. F. & A. M., lodge No. 76, of Senatobia. His parents, John and Dovey (Barry) Sloan, were blessed with six children, all of whom are still living. They are: Dr. A. B., of Coldwater; Dr. R. F., of Cass county, Tex .; W. B., the subject of this sketch; Ruth M., wife of J. T. Patterson, of Murphy, N. C .; Mary A., widow of T. A. Gillespie, and John D., who still resides in Mecklenburg county, N. C. Mr. Sloan, Sr., was an active, progressive farmer and an ardent democrat. He died in November, 1845, at the age of forty-five years, the death of his wife occurring the previous year, at the early age of thirty-eight years. Dr. A. B. Sloan, eldest brother of W. B. Sloan, engaged in the mercantile business in his native county of Mecklenburg, N. C., when but twenty years old, and continued in this line of business for about ten years, when he abandoned it for the profession of dentistry. In 1854 he married Miss Sarah J. Cooper, also a native of North Carolina, and in 1859 they removed to Mississippi. Three children gladdened their home and have left it to form homes of their own: J. E., a merchant in Alma, Ark .; Ida C., now Mrs. W. F. Baker, of the same place, and William T , who is in business in St. Louis. Mrs. Sloan died in 1863, and June 6, 1865, Dr. Sloan married Miss L. P. McCully, of Holly Springs, Miss. Like his brother, Dr. Sloan saw service in the war, enlisting in the Confederate army in the spring of 1863 as first lieutenant in Ballentine's regiment, Journegan's company, Mississippi cavalry. He reluctantly retired from the service after little more than one year's experience on account of a severe attack of rheumatism contracted on the field. Dr. Sloan follows his profession at Coldwater, where he is a well-known and respected citizen, as well as a skillful dental practitioner. He is active in all public enterprises, is an ardent politician, and is a Master Mason of lodge No. 409, of Coldwater. Dr. and Mrs. Sloan are members of the Presbyterian church, and take an active interest in the social life of the town.

Gen. Charles E. Smedes, Mississippi City, Miss., is a Kentuckian by birth. Nine broth- ers, several of whom have reached high and eminent stations in life, have contributed to the dignity and honor of the family home. Two were talented Episcopal clergymen, and two attained prominence at the bar. General Smedes studied law under S. S. Prentiss, and prac- ticed for a short time, but tiring of the confinement, he engaged successively in the wholesale grocery business at Vicksburg, and in the cotton brokerage and commission business at New Orleans. He was a soldier in the Mexican war, a member of the historical first regiment, Mississippi rifles, Jefferson Davis commanding. At the opening of the late war he promptly entered the Confederate service, attained the rank of brigadier-general, and served with dis- tinction to the close of the conflict. Like so many others, when he returned to his former scene of business life he found utter desolation, and only those possessed of great buoyancy of nature and untiring energy were able to regain quickly the equilibrium of commercial life. A change in the management of the St. James hotel, New Orleans, made it possible for him to secure its lease, and this he did without delay. The success following his regime was phe- nomenal. General Smedes notably excels in the comprehension and mastery of the innumer- able details of a hotel, and the comforts and wishes of guests are of the first consideration. The cuisine is unsurpassed in the houses he has had under his control. He has been con- nected with the Maxwell house, Nashville; Marnes hotel, Mississippi City; Blount Springs, Ala. ; Beersheba Springs, Tenn., and the Planters' house, Augusta, Ga., and has gained a reputation extending over almost the entire Union. In 1878 he secured the leasehold of what

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Biographical and historical memoirs of Mississippi, embracing an authentic and comprehensive account of the chief events in the history of the state and a record of the lives of many of the most worthy and illustrious families and individuals, Vol. II, Part 123

Author: Goodspeed Brothers Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed Number of Pages: 1314

Author: Goodspeed Brothers
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed
Number of Pages: 1314