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 145

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 145

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the least penuriously so. They are among the most substantial of the county's residents and are hospitable, charitable and kindly people.

Hon. William D. Torrey has been long and worthily identified with Jefferson county, Miss., and no satisfactory history of his immediate vicinity would be complete which failed to make proper mention of his career. He was born on the 5th of August, 1850, and in his early days was given better advantages than the average boy, and for some time was an attendant of the University of Mississippi. After deciding to make the practice of law his profession, he began studying in the office of Shackleford & Cassidy, and on the day that he arrived at his majority, August 5, 1871, he was admitted to the bar. His views on legal questions soon won for him golden opinions, and while serving in the capacity of justice of the peace, which he did for several years, he became noted for the excellent decisions he made in all cases that appeared before him. He was not long allowed to remain as a mere practitioner, for his brilliant mind and thorough knowledge of all legal technicalities were needed in the legislative halls of Mississippi, and in 1880 he was elected by his numerous friends to that body and for some time was a member of the committee on education and corporations. He was a conscientious and scrupulously honorable legislator, and on all occasions endeavored to use his influence for the benefit of his state. He is now residing on the old homestead, a beautiful place situated about one and one-half miles north of Fayette, which he purchased after the death of his father. Here he is extensively engaged in planting and stockraising, and the seven hundred acres of which he is the owner, have been made very productive by his system of farming. In 1881, Miss Mary F. Hunt, a daughter of Abijah Hunt, one of the early settlers of the county, became his wife and their union has resulted in the birth of two sons. He and his wife are members of the K. and L. of H., of which lodge Mr. Torrey is the chief officer. His father, George Torrey, was also born in this county, his birth taking place in the year 1808, and the wife of the latter, Mary Ann (Barker) Torrey, was born on the 7th of March, 1821, their union taking place in 1840. Six of their children grew to maturity and two sons and one daughter are living at the present time: William D., George, who is a planter residing near Fayette, and Effie, the wife of George D. Forman. George Torrey was an extensive and successful planter and was a man well known for his intelligent views on all matters. For this reason, and from the fact that he possessed undoubted courage and determination, he was elected to the office of sheriff, and for eight years filled this position with credit. He served in both houses of the state legislature, was for many years a member of the senate, and throughout his entire manhood he was prominently before the public as a supporter of all matters pertaining to the welfare of the state and his county. He was chosen commissioner of immigration, and during his term of office made three trips to England, for the purpose of inducing white laborers to immigrate to the state of Mississippi. In this he was quite successful and many good families of this section came here owing to his influence. He lived an active and useful life, and for many years before his death, September 12, 1886, he had been a member of the Presbyterian church. His wife was left an orphan at a very early age, and from her native state of Kentucky she came to this state with an uncle, Dr. E. W. Harding, who set- tled in Greenville, formerly the county seat of this county, where he built up an extensive practice and died in 1887 at the age of ninety-one years. Mrs. Torrey was finely educated, was an exemplary Christian, and died on the 16th of September, 1889.

James Clinton Totten, Holly Springs, a native born citizen of Marshall county, Miss., has become one of its most promising attorneys, and although young in years, he has prac- ticed throughout the entire judicial circuit for some time. His parents, Benjamin and Olivia

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(Brooks) Totten, were born in Tennessee, but came with their parents to Mississippi when small children. They grew up, were married in Marshall county, and the fruits of their union were two children: James C., and Maggie, who is the wife of Dr. S. D. Hamilton of Waterford. The paternal grandfather was a native of Tennessee and of English descent. He had two brothers, A. O. W. Totten of Tennessee, for many years one of the judges of the su- preme court of that state, and Clinton Totten of Arkansas, who had served as circuit judge for many years in Tennessee, and was a prominent politician and lawyer in Arkansas at the time of his deatlı. James S. Totten, our subject's grandfather, came to Mississippi at an early day and he was repeatedly elected a member of the legislature from Marshall county, being speaker of the house for a number of years, before the war. He removed from Mississippi to Arkansas and was a very prominent attorney of that state for a number of years. There his death occured in 1866. Benjamin Totten followed planting in Mar- shall county until the opening of the conflict between the North and South, and then, in 1861, enlisted as a private. He was in the battles of Corinth, Shiloh and many others, and in the last-named engagement received a wound in the foot, which incapacitated him from further service in the infantry, consequently he entered the cavalry. He was killed near Holly Springs, Miss., in 1863, by his horse falling on him. His wife had died sev- eral years previous and this left our subject and sister to be taken care of by their grand- father, Alfred Brooks, who was very kind to them, and to whose aid our subject acknowl- edges much credit for his success in life. James C. Totten was born on April 29, 1857, and at the age of nineteen went to Oxford, obtained his literary training in the State university, and in 1879 he took a commercial course at Bryant and Stratton Commercial college at Louisville, Ky., graduating in 1880. After this he returned to Holly Springs, studied law with the firm of Watson & Smith, and was admitted to the bar in 1882. He then formed a copartnership with J. W. C. and E. M. Watson, of Holly Springs, but E. M. Watson was appointed assistant attorney-general, under Attorney-General Garland, in 1884. Mr. Totten has continued to practice his profession up to the present time and has also been engaged in agricultural pursuits, being the owner of one-half interest in one thousand acres of land in Marshall county, with five hundred acres under cultivation. His principal crop is cotton, and in 1890 he raised seventy-five bales and two or three thousand bushels of corn. He has never been elected to any office in the county, but is at present chairman of the democratic county executive committee. He has given almost his entire attention to the practice of his profession, and his efforts have been crowned with a reasonable degree of success. He is a member of both the Masonic and Odd Fellows frater- nities. His grandfather Brooks was born in North Carolina in 1802, and died in Marshall county, Miss., in 1887. He was a very extensive farmer.

Capt. John V. Toulme, Bay St. Louis, Miss., proprietor of the Crescent hotel, and mayor of Bay St. Louis, Miss., was born in this place in August, 1827, and is a son of John B. and Uranie (Sancier) Toulme, natives of France and of the Dominion of Canada, respectively. The father immigrated to America in 1812, and the mother had come to the states two years before. They were married in Bay St. Louis, and Mr. Toulme carried on a large mercantile and stockraising business for many years. He was identified with all public movements, and was a member of the state legislature for one or two sessions. He was also mayor of the city for some time. He and his wife both died here. They reared a family of seven children, six of whom are living. John V. is the fourth child and the only son. He was educated at St. Mary's school, near Lebanon, Ky., and after completing his studies he engaged in mercantile trade and the raising of livestock. These he conducted

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successfully until the breaking out of the Civil war. At that time he paid taxes on five thou- sand head of cattle, and was the largest stockraiser of the state. However, when the call came, he abandoned his private interests, raised company F, Third Mississippi volunteer infantry, and went out as captain of the company. He served in this capacity until 1863, when he resigned and returned to his home. The desolation and destruction wrought by war would have completely discouraged many a man, but, realizing the uselessness of despair, he set to work at once to retrieve his fortunes. He opened a hotel, and has kept the best house in the Bay. He has just completed a large hotel of fifty-six rooms with all modern improvements. The management is excellent in every department, and the comfort of guests is of the first consideration. The house is known as the Crescent hotel, a name it has had since 1866. Captain Toulme has been mayor of Bay St. Louis, and has proven himself an efficient officer during the several terms he has filled the chair. In 1850 he was married to Martha E. Carr, and three children were born to them, all of whom are living. He was married a second time, in 1879, to Mrs. C. W. List. Five children have been born of this union. The Captain is a member of the Masonic fraternity. He is now captain of company C, First artillery battalion, Mississippi national guards, which he raised and organized in March, 1889. During the time of his service in the Confederate army he was captured in his home while on a furlough, but he managed to make his escape. He was a brave sol- dier, and is a loyal progressive citizen, zealously supporting all home interests.

W. L. Treadwell was born in Rutherford county, N. C., on the 19th day of June, 1828, the second in a family of nine children who came to the home of T. L. Treadwell and Eliza (Allison) Treadwell, who were natives of North and South Carolina, respectively. The paternal grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, serving under the famous Gen- eral Marion. The parents of W. L. Treadwell were married in North Carolina, where they lived till the year 1836, when they moved to Marshall county, Miss., thus earning for himself the title of being one of the pioneers of this part of the state. He bought land here and engaged in farming, also opened up a store, trading principally with the Indians, as there were but few white people in and around old Lamar, the town he chose for his residence. He was quite successful both as a planter and a merchant, accumulating considerable property, and prior to the war owning one hundred slaves. As he was so well and favorably known, he was naturally elected to fill the offices at the command of his fellow townsmen. He was a man noted far and wide for his extreme generosity, especially to aught which pertains to the betterment of his community. After the war he engaged in merchandising in the new town of Lamar, and was thus employed at the time of his death in 1870. His wife died at old Lamar, in 1848, and he married Elizabeth E., widow of Samuel Haney. This wife died in 1889, in her eighty-seventh year; by his last wife there was no issue. Of his offspring there are only six living: Our subject; Allison C., Memphis; Robert A., of Jackson, Tenn .; A. B., engaged in the wholesale grocery business at Memphis; A. E., wife of H. P. Maxwell; and Francis M., farmer in Marshall county; B. D. having died at Memphis, Tenn., leaving a family, and Mary A. (wife of W. B. Smith), and Amelia F., (wife of F. P. Long), having both died near Lamar. The subject was educated at Chapel Hill, N. C., and was a graduate in the class of 1851, after which he took a course of law under a private tutor, Judge Pear- son, of Rockford, N. C., and began the practice of his profession in Memphis in 1854, re- maining there until 1860. In this year he abandoned the practice of law and moved to Marshall county, Miss., where he had bought land, and turned his attention to its cultivation. In 1862 he enlisted in company A, of the Seventh Tennessee cavalry, under Col. W. F. Taylor, this regiment being known as Jackson's escort. He served until the close of the war, and

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was paroled at Gainesville, Ala., when he returned home and resumed his interrupted occupa- tion of planting to which he added the charge of the mercantile business, left at loose ends by his father's death at Lamar, and which he continued to oversee up to the year 1884. when he closed up this branch of his business, and retired to his farm. Later he gave up the man- agement of this also, and had it worked by renters. He owns twelve hundred acres of land, six hundred of which are under cultivation. It is situated two miles southeast of Lamar, in what is uow Benton county. He was married in 1858, to Miss Lou A. Farabee, a daughter of F. B. Farabee, of Shelby county, Tenn. They have three children: Lucy, Robert D., and Eliza A., wife of J. M. Aldrich, of Michigan City, Miss. Miss Lucy was educated at Bethlehem academy at Holly Springs, graduating in 1877. Miss Eliza received her educa- tion at the Huntsville Female college at Huntsville, Ala. Robert went to school at Memphis and is now engaged with the wholesale dry goods house of Lemmon & Gale as traveling salesman. The faithful wife died in 1887, a consistent member of the Episcopal church, to which denomination the family all belong. The family occupy an enviable position in the county, and their home is the resort of the elite of that part of the state. Mr. Treadwell is a Mason and is a man who delights in using his means and influence to better the condition of his county to such an extent that he is deserving of the name of the generous man, which is applied to him. He is a man to whom honor is due and to whom honor comes, but he prefers to use his influence in a private way, always declining his services for any office of profit.

Hon. James M. Trice is a general merchant of Okolona, and also gives considerable attention to the calling of a planter, his land amounting to over one thousand five hundred acres. Mr. Trice was born in Lawrence county, Ala., in 1825, to James A. and Rhoda (Smith) Trice, natives, respectively, of Hanover and Louisa counties, Va., in which state they were reared, educated and married. In 1816 they removed to Madison county, Ala., and in 1818 settled in Lawrence county, where Mr. Trice passed from life in 1853, and his wife in 1864, both having been earnest members of the Methodist church. The father received only an ordinary education in his youth, but possessing much natural ability he became an exceptionally well-informed and intelligent man. He possessed a strong will and a decisive character, and being industrious and honorable he became well-to-do. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. His father, William Trice, was a Virginian, but died in Madi- son county, Ala., whither he had moved in 1816, a well-to-do planter. He was married twice and reared a large family of children, his first wife being the grandmother of Hon. James M. Trice. The maternal grandfather, Noah Smith, was also a Virginian, but in an early day removed to Roane county, Tenn., where he died, a worthy tiller of the soil. Hon. James M. Trice was the eighth of nine sons and three daughters, only two members of this family being now alive. One of the sons, Robert L., now a resident of Verona, Miss., served faithfully in the Confederate army, being in the army of the Tennessee, and partici- pating in the engagements of the Georgia and Atlanta campaign. James M. was reared on a farm, receiving a fair English education, and at the age of nineteen, or in 1844, he came to Monroe county, Miss., and for several years was engaged in trading. He was first married in 1846 in Lawrence county, Ala., to Elizabeth, daughter of John M. and Martha McGaughey, who were born and married in Tennessee, from which state they removed to Lawrence county, Ala., where they died, the father having been a prosperous planter. Mrs. Trice was born in this county and died in 1862, having borne a family of six children: Zachariah T., a merchant of Okolona, was in the state militia during the latter part of the war; Laura, wife of B. T. Clark, of Nettleton; Anna, widow of Charles Smith; John, of

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the John Trice Banking company, of Okolona, one of the most thoroughgoing and success- ful financiers of the county; Mollie, wife of Thomas M. Walton, a planter of Monroe county, and James A., a planter of Nettleton. James M. Trice resided in Monroe county, on the old plantation, until 1883, since which time he has been a resident of Okolona, where he has been connected with the mercantile business since 1876, the firm for some years being J. M. Trice & Co., but for some time he has conducted affairs on his own responsibility. He is one of the most energetic, progressive and practical of business men, and the handsome fortune which he now enjoys is the result of his own efforts. In 1862 he served for some tirue in Col. William Inge's regiment of Mississippi cavalry, but owing to the failing health of his wife he was compelled to return home, and afterward hired a substitute. His second marriage was celebrated, in 1872, to Mrs. Margaret T., a daughter of Joseph Pickens, a native of South Carolina, who removed to Huntsville, Ala., where he passed from life prior to the war, his widow still surviving him. Mrs. Trice was born near Huntsville and is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. Although Mr. Trice has never sought office his many friends deemed him a fitting man to represent them in the state legislature, and in 1875 they elected him to this position, being again elected from Monroe county in 1881, during which session he was chairman of the committee on agriculture. After removing to Chickasaw county he interested himself in every worthy enterprise and soon became well known for his sound and practical views on all subjects, and in 1889 was chosen as a representative to the legislature from this county, and while a member of that body displayed such sound and practical views that he became a conspicuous figure in the legislative halls. He made an enviable record for himself and was an able and incorruptible legis- lator. He was a member of the committee on conventions, and worked for the interest of the bill providing for the new constitutional convention. He was formerly a member of Carnargo lodge No. 118, of the A. F. & A. M., of which he was worshipful master; but he is now a member of Prairie lodge No. 87, of Okolona, in which he is a Knight Templar.

Dr. G. W. Trimble, a prominent physician and surgeon of Grenada, county health officer, surgeon for the Illinois Central railroad and president of the State Medical associa- tion, was born in Limestone county, Ala., in 1822, and is a son of Archibald and Margaret (Reese) Trimble, the father a native of the Old Dominion, and the mother of Tennessee. Archibald Trimble, who was of Scotch-Irish parentage, had three brothers in the War of 1812. He moved from Tennessee to northern Alabama, was one of the first settlers of that state, and died there in 1827. He was a selfmade man. His wife died in Alabama in 1836. She had been married twice, Mr. Trimble being her last husband. The paternal grandfather, John Trimble, of Augusta county, Va., moved to Tennessee at an early day, and thence to Claiborne county, Miss., where his life terminated. The maternal grandfather, Rev. Solomon Reese, was a Cumberland Presbyterian minister, and at an early day emi- grated to northern Alabama, his death occurring in Franklin county of that state During the principal part of his life he ministered to the spiritual wants of his fellowman, and also wielded the ferule in the schoolroom. He was of Scotch- Welsh descent. Dr. G. W. Trimble, the only child born to the above mentioned union, was educated in a printing office in Nashville, Tenn., and Tuscumbia, Ala., beginning when but a small boy, and con- tinuing the printing business until he was twenty-three years of age. He then closed his editorial career at Aberdeen, where he published the Aberdeen Independent and the Aber- deen Bee for a few years. He began the study of medicine with Dr. J. A. Trimble, a half- brother, of Russelville, Ala., and graduated from the medical college of Louisville, Ky., in 1852, since which time he has practiced in Grenada and vicinity, being the oldest resident

Thus, n, East

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practitioner there. He was assistant surgeon in the Second Mississippi infantry, but was soon after disabled by getting his leg broken at Bowling Green, after which he did no further service, except at home. He has been a prominent member of the State Medical association since its formation. He was married, in 1842, to Miss Ella Barksdale, a native of Pickens county, Ala., and the daughter of John and Anna Barksdale, natives of the Old Dominion, where they were reared and married. Later the parents moved to Pickens county, Ala., and there both received their final call. The father was a planter by occupation. Mrs. Trimble was a member of the Baptist church, and died in 1846, leaving one son, Joseph H. The latter was educated in Alabama, and served as a private in the Confederate army. He was a trader, and died in 1875. Dr. Trimble's second marriage occurred in 1856 to Mrs. Rebecca Thomas, daughter of Frank Bullock, a native of South Carolina, who was a successful planter and merchant of Sumter county, Ala., where his death occurred. Mrs. Trimble was born in Old Fort, S. C., and by her marriage to Dr. Trimble became the mother of two children: Mary T., wife of Curtis H. Guy (see sketch), and Charlie. The Doctor has been a member of the Grenada lodge No. 6, I. O. O. F., since 1853, is a very prominent member, and is past grand master of the state, also past grand representative. Mrs. Trimble is a member of the Presbyterian church. The Doctor has planting interests and is one of the foremost men of the county. He is learned in his profession, and his career, as a practitioner and thorough student of medicine, has won for him no less a reputation than has his personal characteristics, as a citizen and neighbor. His advantages for schooling were very limited while growing up, for he was left an orphan when very young, and was compelled to be his own custodian; thus it may truly be said that he is a selfmade man.

Like many of the prominent citizens of Winston county, Nimrod D. Triplett, planter, Perkinsville, Miss., owes his nativity to the Palmetto state, his birth occurring in Chester county, in 1839. His parents, Nimrod, Sr., and Dorothy (Moore) Triplett, it is supposed, were natives also of that county, and there they were reared and married. In the winter of 1848 and 1849, they removed to Winston county, Miss., whither the father had gone to purchase land in 1845, and settled on what was known as the Gentry place. They remained there only a short time, however, and then moved to the place where their son, Nimrod D., now resides. There the father's death occurred in September, 1861, at the age of seventy-one years. His wife is still living at the advanced age of ninety-nine years, and is doubtless the oldest person in the county. The father was a man of ordinary education, and in early life had followed the shoemaker's trade. This he had to abandon on account of ill health, but he afterward ran a still in South Carolina for some time, although his principal occupation during life was farming. He was a very temperate and industrious man. His father, Nimrod Triplett, was of Welsh descent, and was probably born in the Old Dominion, where he was married. From there he removed to North Carolina, thence to South Carolina, and settled in Chester county, where he followed agricultural pursuits. He was the father of two sons. The maternal grandfather, Thomas Moore, was born in Chester district, S. C., and there passed his entire life engaged in farming. He was but a boy during the Revolutionary war, and he and his father were captured by the tories. The father was killed, but the boy escaped, and after- ward wreaked vengeance upon his father's murderer. Nimrod D. Triplett, subject of this sketch, was the tenth of thirteen children, four of whom are now living: George W., of Leake county, was in the Confederate army with General Ferguson; Solomon R., of Kemper county, was in the cavalry during the Civil war. Nimrod D. Triplett was reared on a farm, and FFF

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received an ordinary education in the common schools. He began for himself at the age of twenty-one as an overseer, and early in 1861 he joined company F, Fourteenth Mississippi infantry in the western army, and fought at Fort Donelson. He was captured and spent about seven and a half months in Camp Douglas. He was exchanged at Vicksburg, and afterward fought at Coffeeville, Baker's creek, Jackson, Dalton, and was in the Atlanta campaign. He then went back with General Hood to Franklin and Nashville, and after- ward joined General Johnston in North Carolina, with whom he surrendered after four years' hard service. Returning home after the war he engaged in farming, and in 1868 he was united in marriage to Miss America Richards, a native of Choctaw county, Miss., and the daughter of George W. and Lucinda Richards, the father a native of Alabama, and the mother of Georgia. The parents removed to Choctaw county, Miss., and afterward to Noxubee county, where Mr. Richards died in 1887. Mrs. Richards died about 1877. Both were Baptists, and he had followed planting all his life. They saw twelve of their children grow up and marry. To Mr. and Mrs. Triplett were born seven children, all of whom are living: Beulah A., wife of James M. Smith; George Edwin, Nimrod D, Samuel Orr, Laura Belle, Thomas Moore and John Henry. Since his marriage Mr. Triplett has lived on his present farm consisting of one thousand one hundred acres, and in connection with farming is quite extensively engaged in raising stock. He owns two hundred acres in another tract. He is a member of the Masonic order, formerly of Winston- ville lodge No. 277, was a charter member of Parkersville lodge No. 336, and has been secretary twelve years. He and Mrs. Triplett have been members of the Baptist church for many years, and are highly esteemed 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 145

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