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 133

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 133

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He married Mary Olivia Mckenzie, daughter of Peter Mckenzie and Charlotte Will- iams. Peter Mckenzie came from Scotland originally, and had been educated at the cele- brated University of Edinburgh, and became a prominent man of this county. His wife, Charlotte Williams, came from one of the old influential families of this state, she being a daughter of Daniel Williams and Miss Overton, of Tennessee, and a sister of Hon. Daniel Williams, Mississippi's first secretary of state. To Isaac Johnson and Mary Olivia were born eleven children, four of whom, Samuel Overton, Isaac Johnson, Mary Olivia and Effie Arling- ton, died unmarried; John, Mary Elizabeth, Joseph Smith, Kate, Henry Johnson and Char- lotte Williams moved to Texas in 1872, and are now married and located at Fort Worth, in that state. Peter Mckenzie, the second child born to Isaac Johnson Stockett and Mary Olivia Mckenzie and their eldest living son, was born at the Gretna Green plantation, July 11, 1842, and was educated at Centenary college. While at college the Civil war broke out, so he came home and joined the Wilkinson rifles, Sixteenth Mississippi regiment, under Capt. Carnot Rosey, and was in all the battles participated in by his regiment, including all those bloody and desperate conflicts fought in northern Virginia. He was wounded in the seven days' fight around Richmond, and was disabled at the battle of Spottsylvania courthouse, May 12, 1864, after which he was made adjutant of the Eighteenth Louisiana cavalry, and com- missioned by President Jefferson Davis. He was, for a third time, wounded in a skirmish at

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Woodville, Miss., where he was in command of the advance of Bynum's battalion of cavalry. A great, but merited, honor was conferred on Mr. Stockett after returning from the army, by the Soldiers' Memorial association of Wilkinson county. He was chosen to write the biog- raphies of all the soldiers who died or were killed in the late war from Wilkinson county. He has held the office of secretary since the organization of the association. This association has erected to the memory of their dead, on a beautiful lawn at Woodville, a bronze monu- ment, that will ever stand as a fitting memorial of their memory and patriotic services. Mr. Stockett was married to Juliet Johnson, May 14, 1867. She is a daughter of William John- son, Esq., and Elizabeth Randolph, late of Woodville, Miss. Mrs. Stockett was well educated, and is a lady of fine social graces and attainments. Mr. Stockett is a leading planter of this county, where he owns large landed interests, most of which were formerly owned by the older members of the family, all beautifully located and well improved. He is a democrat and has often been chosen to represent the county in the state, senatorial and congressional con- ventions. He has been for many years a member, and several times secretary, of the county democratic executive committee. Mr. and Mrs. Stockett are active members of the Presby- terian church at Woodville, Miss., of which he is an elder and clerk of the session. He has several times been a delegate to the meetings of the presbytery and synod, and was a dele- gate to the general assembly of the Presbyterian church, that met at Vicksburg in 1884, and was chosen alternate in 1890. Mr. and Mrs. Stockett now reside on their Rosedale planta- tion and have several children, as follows: William Johnson, born February 14, 1868, and was educated at Chamberlain-Hunt academy and the University of Mississippi, graduating at the latter institution in 1889; he was admitted to the bar in 1890, and is now a practicing lawyer; Samuel Overton, born January 6, 1870, also attended the University of Missis- sippi; he is a successful planter in his native county; Thomas Galen, born April 29, 1872, and attended Chamberlain-Hunt academy; he is at present at home with his parents; Elizabeth Randolph, born January 7, 1877, and died September 8, 1881; she was a bright and beautiful little girl.

Robert N. Stockton, of Smithville P. O., Monroe county, was born in Madison county, Ala., February, 1814. His parents are William and Sarah (Marez) Stockton. William Stockton was reared in Stockton valley, in east Tennessee, a tract of land deriving its name from that of his family, and was a farmer and merchant all his life. His wife was a native of Logan county, Ky. Both were members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. Mr. Stockton, who saw service in the Creek Indian war, came to Mississippi in 1830, and moved on the farm where his son Robert now lives, in 1831, where he died July 27, 1833. He was a prominent Mason. His widow married Rev. Mr. Weaver, and died in 1878. Robert N. Stockton's early life was spent in farming, a practical preparation for the planter's life which he has ever led since he was sixteen years and four months of age. He has held the office of supervisor and was bailiff for fourteen years. During the late war he was a mem- ber of company B, of the Third Mississippi battalion, under command of Lieutenant Bergin. He was in the service one year and was discharged on account of sickness. He is a promi- nent Mason, and member of the Blue lodge No. 165, of Amory. He is one of the most suc- cessful farmers in the county, and owns about nine hundred acres of well improved land, all in one body. He was married December 31, 1844, to Mary J. Baldwin, and they have had thirteen children, named as follows: Sarah S., Affienca A., Robert C., Josephine, Amelia, Silas G., William L., Dancy M., Mary V., Nathaniel M., Fannie E., Jane V., and John C. B., who died in December, 1878, aged twenty-two years. Mr. Stockton has led an honorable, upright life and has been more than successful financially, and the same may be said of his

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sons who are old enough to take active part in the duties of life. He is passing his declining years in the quiet enjoyment of the fruits of his industry, held in high esteem by his large circle of friends, and loved and honored by his family.

William L. Stockton, son of Robert N. Stockton, was born in Monroe county, in 1847. His father was one of the pioneers of this section of the country, and his biographical sketch appears elsewhere in this work. In 1870 Mr. Stockton married Melissa Tubb, of Monroe county, and to them have been born nine children, named as follows: Edward, Mary E., Mat- tie B., Robert N., Imogene, William A., Grover Cleveland, Lockridge and Lucian L., all of whom are living. Mr. Stockton is in no sense a public man, but he is enterprising and suc- cessful, and one of the most helpful men in Monroe county.

Walter Stokes, merchant and planter, Canton, Miss., who is one of the prominent busi- ness men and successful planters of Madison county, was born in Yazoo county, Miss., on the 5th of May, 1861, and is of English descent. His father, E. A. Stokes, was a native of the Palmetto state, and his mother, Sallie (Taylor) Stokes, was a native of North Caro- lina. The paternal grandfather, Joseph Stokes, was born in South Carolina, and the maternal grandfather, J. A. Taylor, was a native of the Old North state. E. A. Stokes, father of subject, came to Mississippi at an early day and settled in Madison county, where he has been engaged in planting since. Of the nine children born to his marriage, Walter was the eldest in order of birth. The latter passed his boyhood days in Mississippi, and was educated in both the public and private schools of that state. When seventeen years of age he entered the Mississippi college at Clinton, remained there three years, and afterward, in 1879-80, entered the state university at Oxford. The last named year he took a course in the Eastman Business college, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. He is now the owner of eleven hundred acres of land, has eight hundred acres under cultivation, and in connection with his brother, under the firm title of Stokes Bros., is engaged in merchandising, carrying a stock of goods valued at $3,000 and doing an annual business of $20,000. Mr. Stokes was married in 1888 to Miss Eugenia Atkinson, who was born in Mississippi, and whose parents, W. H. and M. B. Atkinson, were natives of Mississippi. Mr. and Mrs. Stokes have one child, Eugenia. Mr. Stokes began the battle of life for himself with no means, and by his industry and push has made a very creditable start. He advocates the principles of the democratic party and is enterprising and public spirited.

Adolphus Stone, Eudora, Miss., occupies a position in the history of De Soto county, that entitles him to a record in this volume. His ancestors were people of great integrity of character and much force and ability, and these traits have found ready expression in this member of the present generation. He was born in Chatham county, N. C., February 7, 1846, being the youngest of a family of three children. His parents, Carney P. and Delilah (Jenkins) Stone, were also natives of North Carolina. The father was an extensive planter and a large slave-holder before the war; he is still living and holds a prominent position in the community. The paternal grandparents were John and Betsey Stone, natives of Vir- ginia and North Carolina respectively. John Stone was one of the wealthiest planters in North Carolina. He went to the state a very poor man, but at the time of his death he was immensely wealthy. Adolphus Stone passed his boyhood and youth amidst the scenes of his birth. He attended the private schools of the neighborhood until 1864, and then entered the military school at Hillsboro. But the pressure of war finally brought an end to this advantage, and he with many others was deprived of what is the right of every one brought into this world, the highest education which he is capable of receiving. At the age of twenty-four years he bade farewell to the parental roof and went out to seek his fortune in

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his own way. He had a small capital and this was invested in land. To-day he owns six hundred and forty acres of land, two hundred and fifty of which he has placed under culti- vation. This plantation lies one mile south of Eudora, is well improved, and is in every way a delightful home. With that hospitality characteristic of the true Southerner, visitors are always welcome to this pleasant retreat. Mr. Stone was united in marriage December 2, 1890, to Miss Maud L. Troutman, who was born in Indiana, a daughter of Henry D. and Nancy J. (Nash) Troutman. Mr. and Mrs. Troutman came from Kentucky and Indiana, respectively. The Nash family were among the first settlers of Tennessee, and the city of Nashville was named in honor of them. Our subject was in the late Civil war; he enlisted in 1864 in the Fifth North Carolina cavalry, doing service to the end of the conflict. He is a member of the Knights of Honor. Politically he affiliates with the democratic party, but takes no part in the action of that body beyond the casting of his suffrage. Mrs. Stone is a worthy member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Edward H. Stone, merchant and planter, Canton, Miss. Prominent among the successful business men and popular citizens of Madison county stands the name of Edward H. Stone, who is a native born resident of the state, born in Madison county on October 8, 1851. He was the third of five children born to John and Eliza J. (Cohea) Stone, the father a native of Virginia and the mother of Tennessee. John Stone was a merchant in the early part of his days, but at the time of his death, in 1857, he was engaged in the hotel business. He erected the first business house in Canton, Miss. The maternal grandparents, Perry and Mary Cohea, were natives of Tennessee. The grandfather Cohea came to Mississippi when it was a terri- tory, and assisted in removing the Indians from that state. The family is one of the oldest in the history of the state. Edward H. Stone passed his boyhood and youth in Mississippi, and secured a fair education in that state. At the tender age of twelve years he was obliged to start out for himself, and all his property has been obtained by hard work and good manage- ment. He is a man of more than ordinary ability and is shrewd and clear-headed in his business. Mr. Stone is a member of the Knights of Honor, and ever extends a willing and liberal hand to further all good movements. He was married in 1884 to Miss Mary I. Yel- lowlly, a native of Mississippi. To Mr. and Mrs. Stone have been born three children: Edward Y., John W. and Alma.

James Stone, attorney, Batesville, Miss. Mr. Stone's grandfather, William E. Stone, was originally from the bluegrass regions of Kentucky, but was one of the very first settlers of Panola county, Miss., where he was one of the prominent planters. He did a great deal toward the development of the county in his day, and was among the foremost to assist in all worthy enterprises. He died abont 1865, at the age of eighty-five years. His son, William E. Stone, was a native also of Kentucky, and was married in that state to another native Kentuckian, Miss Elizabeth McCoy. They came to Mississippi, when this state was very sparsely settled, and there William E. became a successful agriculturist. He was a com- missioned officer in the Confederate army, and was a brave and faithful soldier. He was a very strong democrat but never made himself conspicuous in politics. His death occured in 1888. His marriage resulted in the birth of one child, James Stone, who was born in Panola county, Miss., on the 29th of August, 1856. The latter attained his growth in his native county, but received his education in the military college of Frankfort, Ky., graduating in 1876. He soon after entered the law department of Oxford university, but on account of failing health left school at the end of a few months. He was subsequently admitted to the bar, and in 1880 opened an office in Batesville, where he has since practiced success- fully. In 1890 he entered a partnership with P. H. Lowry, a promising young attorney at

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Batesville. Mr. Stone is extensively interested in farming and now owns two thousand acres of land, of which six hundred acres are under the plow. He also has a well equipped office and a handsome residence in Batesville. He was married in 1879 to Rosamond Alston, a native of Mississippi, and a daughter P. S. Alston, of Memphis, Tenn. They have two children: William E., and James. Though a young man Mr. Stone is an able member of the bar, and is one of the foremost men of the county. He is pleasant and social and a gentle- man one delights to meet, for he is not wrapped up in himself, but on the contrary is inter- ested in his fellowman and all that is going on around him. Socially he is a member of the Knights of Honor and the American Legion of Honor. Mrs. Stone is a member of the Methodist church.

The Rev. J. B. Stone, who is well-known throughout Lee and adjoining counties, was born in South Carolina in 1831, and is a son of the Rev. Tilman and Eliza (Boyd) Stone. His father was a minister, teacher, and farmer. He was born in Spartanburg, S. C., in 1806, and was a son of William and Frances Stone. He was reared in his native state, and in 1827, was married. Eleven children were born of the union, eight of whom are living: J. B., William M .. J. L., Nancy J., now Mrs. Cheek; Margaret C., now Mrs. Lloyd; Rev. Samuel C., of Memphis; Richard W., and Hilliard B. The father died in 1849, but the mother survived until 1873. Mr. Stone was a member of the I. O. O. F. The youth of our subject was not an ideal one, but his circumstances were such that the best that was in him was developed. His education was acquired entirely through his own efforts, and he did not yield until he felt that he had received the mental discipline neces- sary for theological study. In 1857 he entered the ministry, and has since devoted his time to preaching the gospel. He has been a Methodist minister for thirty-five years, filling circuits, stations and districts, in the Alabama, Mobile and North Mississippi conferences. Mr. Stone's first marriage took place in Monroe county, Miss., in 1857, when he was united to Miss Rebecca Mosley, a daughter of E. B. Mosley. One child was born to them, Bes- sie, who is now Mrs. Buder, of Columbia, Miss. Mrs. Stone died in 1864, and Mr. Stone was married to Miss Mary B. Koger in 1865. She is a daughter of Thomas J. and Bilsey Koger, and a native of Noxubee county, Miss., born in 1847. Her grandfather, Hon. Joseph Koger, was in his day one of the most prominent men in the politics of South Carolina and Mississippi; being a member of the state senate of each state for several years. Her father, Rev. T. J. Koger, a graduate of Randolph-Macon college, practiced law for a short time, then went into the ministry, was a member of the general conference that met in Nashville in 1858, and was killed in the battle at Perryville, Ky., October 8, 1862. Five children were born of the second marriage: Jefferson K., who was educated at Emory and Henry college; Lila, wife of A. D. Rogers; Clara A., Mary C., and Ruth C. Mr. Stone is a woman of more than ordinary mental endowments, and has improved all the opportunities that have come to her lot. In 1884 she was elected principal of the Verona Female college, a position she has filled with great credit to herself, and to the best interests of the institution. She was elected corresponding secretary of the Woman's Missionary society of the North Mississippi conference in 1880, which position she still continues to occupy. Mr. Stone enlisted in the Forty-third Mississippi regiment as chaplain, and served until the end of the war.

Rev. Samuel C. Stone, M. A., minister and planter, Memphis, Tenn., was born in Mon- roe county, Miss., on the 22d of November, 1845, and is the seventh in order of birth of ten children born to Tilman and Eliza (Boyd) Stone, natives of the Palmetto state. The father came to Mississippi in 1840, and there passed a life of usefulness as a local minister in the Methodist church. Though a slaveowner he was very kind to them and they were de-

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voted to him. He died suddenly in 1847 in Marshall county, Miss., in a few hours after hav- ing preached an excellent sermon. He was an esteemed and honored minister in his denom- ination and left seven children, who are all prominent in their different callings. One son, Rev. J. B. Stone, is a minister of great usefulness in north Mississippi and has been presid- ing elder for twenty years, having laid himself a willing sacrifice upon the altar of the church of his choice. The maternal grandfather, Joseph Boyd, was of Irish parentage, and was a Presbyterian minister of rare attainments and unusual ability; the Boyd family being noted for their energy, integrity, piety and their activity as protestants against the state church of England. The paternal grandfather was of Welsh origin. Rev. Samuel C Stone was reared in Mississippi and educated at Summerville, Ala., where he completed his education in 1870. Since that time he has been in the ministry of the Methodist church, and after becoming eligible to elder's orders he was at once put in charge of a district where his administrative ability became a mat- ter of comment throughout the conference. He has been in charge of important stations of this conference from that time up to the present. In addition to his ministerial duties he has, with striking ability, carried on business enterprises and is now the owner of four different places, consisting of not less than two thousand acres of land located in the richest portion of the delta. He has seven hundred acres under cultivation and is rapidly clearing more, having himself put most of the improvements on his several places. He is also the owner of a neat residence in Memphis, Teun., valued at about $7,000, and he is now engaged in the real estate and brokerage busi- ness in that city, in connection with chief manager of the firm, a position to which he has recently been elected. Mr. Stone was married in 1874 to Miss Bettie D. Partee, a native of Mis- sissippi and only danghter of S. B. and Martha (Douglass) Partee, uatives of Tennessee, and descendants of two of the prominent families of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Stone became the . parents of three children: Joseph B., Samuel C. (deceased) and Hilliard Partee. Although Mr. Stone educated himself and was obliged to start out to fight life's battles empty handed, his work, both in the ministry and in secular pursuits has been greatly blessed and no man in the state has achieved so much under similar circumstances. He stands in the front ranks as a minister of his church in north Mississippi and his ability for usefulness extends in every direction and into adjoining states, while his name is associated with every enterprise for the advancement of the interests of his country and for the promotion of the honor and welfare of his native state. He is a man of pleasing address and is an extremely interesting speaker and a perfect type of a Southern gentleman. He is at present residing in Memphis, where he is educating his children and where he is manager of the furniture establishment that bears his name. Mr. Stone, wherever he has gone, has in a most signal manner made himself felt as a temperance worker and a leader in the cause of temperance of marked ability, having through many a hotly contested fight led his church or party to victory. Notwithstanding the fine business qualifications of which he is possessed in so high a degree, he takes no credit to himself, but points to the sacred memory of his sainted mother, recognizes her influence as the mainspring of all of his achievements; next to his affectionate sisters, who live to bless and encourage him, and with a becoming modesty and pride points to his thoroughly accom- plished and highly polished wife, who has, while he was struggling against adversity and oppo- sition, until he is now paying taxes on over $50,000 worth of real estate, situated in different towns and states, been a helpmeet to him indeed, and would give her all the glory, pointing to her as his unfailing guide, ever faithful, loyal and loving and possessed of the grandest and most praiseworthy and houorable of characteristics, standing in her presence with uncovered head. Mrs. Stone was four years a student in the State Female college, going from there to Nazareth, at Bardstown, Ky., where she received her diploma. Mr. Stone has three times

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been called to the presidency of important schools and of two colleges, but declined such honors.

J. H. Stone is a prominent planter, whose postoffice address is Tremont, Itawamba county, Miss. He is the owner of two thousand acres of land, and has a fine gristmill and one of the largest steam cottongins in the county, located at Tremont, about ten miles east of Fulton. His is one of several families of Stones living in this neighborhood. He is the son of D. J. and Parmelia A. (Bethany) Stone, both natives of Alabama, and he was born in that state in 1834. He removed with his parents to Mississippi, when young, and was reared to an agricultural life, and also given fair educational advantages. As his father had done before him, he chose the career of a planter, in which he has been quite successful. He was married in 1859 to Florence, a daughter of John and Eliza Cowden, and a native of Alabama, where she was born in 1842. Mr. and Mrs. Stone have had eleven children, of whom ten are living: Mary O., Josephine L., Julia M., Orville T., Walter D., Lucien Q., John H., William G., Galusha C. and Florence E. In May, 1862, Mr. Stone enlisted in Colonel Gordon's regiment and served with it during the war, receiving his discharge at Columbus, Miss. Active in local and state politics, he is a stanch democrat, and has twice been elected by his party to the office of sheriff of Itawamba county. Except during the time when he was in the war, he has been postmaster since 1859 at Tremont, where he lives, and still holds that office. He is a master and Royal Arch Mason, aud he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. He is everywhere recognized as a liberal contributor to churches and schools, and other laudable enterprises, having for their object the benefit of the community in which he lives. Dr. D. A. Stone, a brother of our subject, was born in Ala- bama in 1820, and married Jennie E. Ward, a native of Alabama, and who has one child, named Casta B. He has long been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and has been a practicing physician in this neighborhood. G. P. Stone, another brother, is a planter living in his near vicinity. He was born in 1836, and married Elizabeth A., a daughter of Rev. S. Mayfield, of this state. He was a soldier in the Confederate army for a short time during the late war. He is the owner of about ten hundred acres of land. It is a source of much gratification to Mr. Stone that his brothers here mentioned are good democrats and good citizens.

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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 133

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