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 146

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 146

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).

William E. Trotter is a successful planter and merchant of Clay county, Miss., and is well and favorably known to the majority of the residents of this section, for he has been a resident of the county since 1854. He was born in Lincoln county, Tenn., in 1816, and when about five years of age was taken to Alabama by his parents and was there brought up on a plantation. Notwithstanding this, upon starting out in life for himself, it was as a clerk, and in 1852 he was sufficiently familiar with the business to embark in merchandising for himself at Moscow, Ala. Since becoming a resident of Mississippi he has carried on planting in connection with merchandising, and his plantation is a valuable one and beauti- fully located on the bank of the Tombigbee river. In 1842 he was married to Miss Sarah A. Moore, of Tennessee, a daughter of Maj. James Moore, of that state, and their union has resulted in the birth of these children: Mary F. (Kirk); John, who died at the age of two years; Charles M., also died when two years of age; James M., of Aberdeen; Sarah A. (Hodo), of West Point; Mattie A., wife of Dr. White, of West Point, Miss .; Ida (Dukemi- ner), who is deceased; Richard M., of West Point; Benjamin, a resident of Vinton, Clay county, Miss. ; Henry C., who died when two years old; Susie (Watts), of Starkville. Mr. Trotter is a member of the Masonic order, which he joined in Alabama in 1836, and while a resident of Moscow, Ala., in 1838, was appointed postmaster of that place by Martin Van Buren, who was then president of the United States. He has been postmaster at different places in Alabama and Mississippi ever since, a period of over fifty-three years. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are respected and honored by all who know them. Mr. Trotter is now in his seventy-fifth year, but carries his age remarkably well and looks much younger. He is a son of Dr. Thomas L. and Mary S. (Quarles) Trotter, who were born in 1777 and 1784, respectively. The former practiced medicine in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama, and being well posted in his profession, as well as on all the general topics of the day, he was successful and accumulated a comfortable compe- tency. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, died in 1831 and his wife in 1861.

925

MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI.

Hon. Jeff. Truly has early become a distinguished member of the bar, and during his career as an attorney he has shown himself to be endowed with superior ability, and his words are accompanied with weight and vigor. By hard study and conscientious practice his position is so well established that it is conceded by all competent judges that he ranks among the highest civilians. Mr. Truly has been deeply interested in everything per- taining to the welfare of Jefferson county, for in the town of Fayette he was born on the 21st of July, 1861. His father, R. H. Truly, was also born here, and was here united in marriage to Miss Mary Key, a native of Alabama, but reared in Mississippi. R. H. Truly is a man of strong character, and intellectually is far the superior of the average man. He is personally acquainted with and has met socially nearly all the great statesmen of Mis- sissippi and the nation, and as he is very fond of traveling, and believes this to be a liberal education in itself, he has visited nearly all the great cities of the United States. He is of a very social and agreeable disposition, and his pleasant, winning manners, his kindly disposition and his intelligent conversation make him a most agreeable companion, and have won for him innumerable friends. Hon. Jeff. Truly had only limited school advantages in his boyhood, and is principally self-educated. Having always possessed a strong inclination for the study of law, he began the study of that profession in his native town, but later con- tinued to pursue his studies at St. Joseph, La., under Steele & Garrett, eminent attorneys of that place, and still later took a complete course in the law department of the University of New Orleans, completing the course before he attained his twenty-first birthday. After the completion of his course he returned to his home in Mississippi, and formed a part- nership with W. D. Torrey, his present partner, their union being blessed with abundant success from the first. He has had some very important cases which he has brought to a successful issue, and the echo of his name and fame have extended over a wide territory. He has evinced quite an active interest in local politics, and in 1885 was chosen by his numerous friends to the state legislature, being one of the youngest members of that body, and distinctly in opposition to the administration at that time. He served as a mem- ber of the state campaign committee, also the state democratic committee, in both of which he distinguished himself. He is able and earnest in advocacy of what he thinks best calculated to promote the best interests of the country, and as he is studious and attentive to his business, abstemious in his habits and laborious in research, he has never per- mitted the interests of his clients to suffer. He is at all times thoroughly prepared in his cases, and is rarely taken by surprise. His clients rely implicitly upon his word and his counsel. He was married in Fayette, October 23, 1889, to Miss Mattie Whitney, a daughter of Dr. P. K. Whitney, who is a native of Jefferson county and a member of one of the oldest and best known families in the county. Mr. and Mrs. Truly have one child, Ever- ette. Mr. Truly is a member of the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Honor, and as he is a man of much native ability there is a bright future before him.

John Thomas Trusty, Pine Valley, Miss., a successful merchant and planter of Yalo- busha county, was born in the state of Tennessee in the year 1840, and is a son of James G. and Eliza F. (Speary) Trusty, also natives of Tennessee. The maternal grandparents were natives of Pennsylvania and Canada. John Speary, the grandfather, was a millwright who emigrated to Mississippi soon after 1830, and purchased a large tract of land in Pontotoc county, where he became an extensive real estate dealer. He afterward settled in Yalobusha county and put up a mill on Hurricane creek. There he lived until death, which came to him in 1858, at the age of sixty years. He was a Universalist in his religious faith. He accumulated a considerable property, and was highly respected by all

926

BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL

who knew him. He had two children: the mother of our subject and Mrs. Francis Tatum. Martha Speary, his wife, was born in Pennsylvania; she lived to be past seventy years of age. She was one of the charter members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Pine Valley, which was organized in 1840. The parents of Mr. Trusty were married in Will- iamson county, Tenn., and came to Mississippi after the Speary family had removed to that state. The father is yet living, and is engaged in farming, being the owner of a consider- able estate. He is a member of the Baptist church, of which he has been a deacon since its organization. During the war he belonged to the militia, and in his political opinions he is democratic. His wife died in 1875. To them had been born thirteen children, five of whom are yet living: John Thomas is the eldest of these. He remained under the parental roof until the breaking out of the late war, when he enlisted in the Fifteenth Mississippi volunteer infantry, company F. He served until he was discharged at Chi- cago after the surrender. He was taken prisoner at Nashville, Tenn., while under Hood. He was wounded in the battle of Shiloh, by a spent shell, and again, in the battle of Cor- inth, he was knocked down by a spent shell, but was not disabled more than a few days. He was also at Franklin and Nashville, and in several skirmishes. In 1867 he was married to Mrs. Anna H. Bell, nee Palmore, a native of Virginia. She is one of a family of three sons and three daughters. Her mother died when she was but three years of age. She was first married to William A. Bell, a native of Winslow county, S. C. Of this marriage one child was born, Helen, the wife of Charles W. Wright, a resident of Arkansas. Of the sec- ond marriage five children have been born: Virginia, John L., William T., Joseph H. (who died at the age of five years) and James R. Mr. Trusty is a member of the Tabernacle lodge No. 340, A. F. & A. M. Politically he affiliates with the democratic party, and in religious faith he is a Baptist. Since 1880. he has been engaged in the general mer- cantile trade, and is the proprietor of the Pine Valley store. He was commissioned post- master December 31, 1885, and has conducted the office in connection with his other busi- ness. He is the owner of several hundred acres of land, a large portion of which is under cultivation. Stockraising is also carried on extensively on this place. In these various industries our subject has call to exercise all of his business faculties, and that he has made a success of it is to be seen in the thrift and air of prosperity which pervades all his possessions.

Joel A. Tucker owes his nativity to Marshall county, Miss., his birth occurring on the 7th of October, 1852, and although young in years, he is one of the substantial men of the county. He was the eldest in order of birth of four children born to Asa E. and Amanda E. (Ingram) Tucker, both natives of the Old Dominion. The father is a planter, has been very successful in life, and is one of the representative men of the county. He was president of the Bank of Sardis, where he resides, until on account of age and ill health he refused to serve any longer. He came to Mississippi at an early day, and became quite a noted char- acter in Panola county. Joel A. Tucker grew to manhood in Panola county, received his education in both public and private schools, and at the usual age of twenty-one years he began for himself as a planter. He started with some capital, and is now the owner of one thousand nine hundred and fifty-five acres of land, with four hundred acres under cultiva- tion. This farm is in a fine state of cultivation, and is considered one of the best in the county. Mr. Tucker is also the owner of a saw, gin and gristmill, a cotton and seedhuller. He was married in 1879 to Miss Irene F. Caldwell, who was born in Mississippi, and who is the daughter of Hon. W. W. and M. C. (Fowler) Caldwell, the father a native of Tennessee, and the mother of Alabama. Mr. Caldwell represented Panola county, Miss., in the state

927

MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI.

legislature in 1884. Mr. and Mrs. Tucker's union has been blessed by the birth of four children: Willie B., deceased; Mary E., Asa C. and Casey L. In his political views Mr. Tucker adhers closely to the democratic party. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and he and his family hold membership in the Methodist church. He gives his hearty sup- port to all enterprises tending toward the growth and prosperity of the county. Mr. Tucker is the owner of a stone building in Courtland, a busy little town on the Illinois Central rail- road, sixty-five miles south of Memphis, and Mrs. Tucker is the owner of forty acres of land, two brick buildings in Batesville, and an interest in three hundred acres of land on Tallahat- chie river. Mr. Tucker comes of one of the oldest and most respected families in the county, and by his sociable ways has won a host of friends.

J. W. Tucker, merchant, Chulahoma, Miss. Prominent among the successful business enterprises of Chulahoma stands that conducted by Tucker Bros., the firm consisting of J. W. and his brother, Robert L., both live, industrious merchants. They engaged in this enterprise in Chulahoma about 1880, and carry a stock of goods valued at $3,500, their annual business amounting to $20,000. Aside from this J. W. Tucker is the owner of one thousand three hundred and twenty acres of land, five hundred acres under cultivation and his principal crop is cotton. His farm is operated by renters principally. Mr. Tucker was born near Chulahoma, Marshall county, Miss., on the 24th of December, 1847, and is a son of Jesse C. and Mary E. (Fort) Tucker, the father a native of Alabama, and the mother of North Carolina. They came to Mississippi with their parents when small, grew up and were married in Marshall county. They reared a family of thirteen children, eight sons and five daughters. The Tucker family was one of the earliest pioneers of the country, having removed from Tennessee to Mississippi in the thirties, when the country was full of Indians. Grandfather Tucker was a Baptist minister, and organized the church at Chulahoma and others in the surrounding country. He died in 1841, near Chulahoma. Jesse C. Tucker became a successful planter and died in 1868. The mother died in July, 1874. Ten of their children are now living, J. W. being third in order of birth. In 1864, when but sixteen years of age, the latter enlisted in the Confederate army, Colonel Withers' regiment, and served until the close of the war. He afterward followed farming near Chulahoma. Previous to entering the army he had received a good practical education in the common schools, and his brother, Robert L., who had taught in the public schools for two years, took a commercial course at Memphis. The latter, who is the youngest of the boys, is six feet six inches in hight and weighs two hundred and thirty-four pounds. He was married in 1889 to Miss Matilda M. Odell, daughter of Denton and Fanny E. (Bloodworth) Odell, and they have one daughter, Robina E. He is the owner of farm land and a fine residence at Chulahoma. The Tucker family is well and favorably known all over Marshall county, and are excellent citizens and successful business men. J. W. Tucker is a member of the Methodist church, but his brothers, R. L. and B. C., are members of the Baptist church. J. W. is also a member of the Masonic fraternity.

Kate Tucker institute. The Kate Tucker institute, located at Byhalia, Miss., was founded in 1882 by Mrs. Kate E. Tucker, and is a shining monument that deserving merit has won its principal. By her indefatigable energy and industry, in the face of strong opposition and without capital, this institution has steadily grown in numbers, character, and especially in the esteem of its patrons, till it stands now among the first schools of the state. The great success of its noble work is realized in the many young teachers it has sent out, who are engaged in remunerative positions in this and other states. Their pride in their work reflects great credit upon their alma mater, whose training has fitted them for

928

BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL

such success. The institution was chartered in 1889, and by special request of its patrons its present name was selected. The principal, Mrs. Kate E. Tucker, was raised and edu- cated in the school-famed city of Shelbyville, Ky. Her father, Mr. John Ross Doolan, died in 1854, when she was bnt six years old, leaving her mother with five small children to rear and educate. But the mother must have been animated by the enterprise that so eminently characterizes the daughter, for she not only reared, but she secured them the best educational advantages the town afforded. The father being a Baptist the children were educated at the Baptist college of Shelbyville, then the most progressive, under that model teacher, the Rev. B. F. Hungerford. That the children responded to the ambition of the mother to leave them the priceless fortune of an education, is manifested in the fact that two of them, Prof. T. J. Doolan, of Finchville, Ky., and Kate Eugenia, became teachers before they were seventeen. The latter filled with distinction a position as teacher in Bardstown, Ky., from 1867 to 1870, when she came to Holly Springs, where she taught four years. Failing health obliged her for a period to abandon her loved profession. Like many others who visit the South, she became so charmed with the genial climate and the hospitality of its people that she determined to make it her future home. Again, in 1875, she accepted a position in the Winona Female college for one year, after which she returned to Marshall county, where she has since taught. From the first she has been a diligent reader of educational liter- ature. She has taken several normal courses, besides lessons in art, mathematics and pen- manship from celebrated specialists. In 1881 she was married to Hon. J. H. Tucker, of Marshall county, and the fall of the next year commenced the nucleus of Kate Tucker institute.

Hon. J. H. Tucker, who is co-principal of Kate Tucker institute, was born near Petersburg, Va., in 1840. His father, Joseph Tucker, moved to Marshall county in 1844. His mother, who became a widow when he was ten, managed admirably the estate left her, and spared no expense in the opportunities procured for her children. The greater portion of his education was acquired in Marshall county, till he entered the sophomore class in the University of Mississippi. He enlisted in the Eleventh Mississippi regiment soon after the first gun from Fort Sumter resounded, and served in General Bee's brigade in the first battle of Bull Run, where he lost his brother, Thomas Emmet. He was discharged, but soon re-enlisted in the Tenth Mississippi regiment, and served in Gen. James H. Chamlers' brigade, until he again resigned, and, on returning health, re-enlisted in General Forrest's cavalry. He was paroled at Gainesville, Ala., and returned to his home to find it in ashes, and a comfortable fortune wasted by the ravages of war. He has been twice elected to the legislature of his state, which were the only interruptions in his vocation of planting, till 1882, when he became connected with the Kate Tucker institute.

Hon. Edward Turner (deceased) was a man whose memory has been kept green in the hearts of the many who knew and loved him in life. His reputation remained unblemished throughout a long and useful public career, and his acts of charity, his liberality, his kind- ness of heart and his brilliant mental endowments, made him a favorite of all with whom he came in contact. He was born in Fairfax county, Va., on the 25th of November, 1778, but in 1786 was taken by his parents to the state of Kentucky, and in the healthful bluegrass regions of that state he was brought up. He was given the advantages of excellent schools, and in his early manhood graduated from the Transylvania college, soon after which he began the study of law with Col. George Nichols, and at the end of three years, when in his twenty- eighth year, he began practicing his profession. In 1802 he came to Natchez, Miss., and as his ability soon became known, he was elected a clerk of the house of representatives, and

929

MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI.

was also the private secretary of Governor Claiborne. In September, 1802, he married a daughter of Col. Cato West, of Jefferson county, and to that county Mr. Turner removed and made his home. After a wedded life of nine years his wife was called from him, and in December, 1812, his union with Miss Eliza B. Baker, a native of New Jersey, was consum- mated. In 1815 he was elected to represent Adams county in the state legislature, and so admirably did he fill the obligations that were imposed upon him that for many years he was honored by re-elections. In 1816 the legislature confided to him the preparation of a digest of the statute laws, and at the time of the admission of Mississippi into the Union as a state, he was a member of the convention. He was twice elected speaker of the house of repre- sentatives, and in 1822 was appointed judge of the criminal court of Adams county, which led to his being elevated to the bench of the supreme and superior courts of the state by Governor Leake, and in 1830 received the appointment of attorney general. In 1834 he was elected chancellor of the state, but at the end of five years was elected judge of the high court of errors and appeals, during which time he displayed very superior mental endow- ments. Having a thorough knowledge of all the intricacies of the law, the most abstruse and complicated subjects were handled with ease and grace, and through his clear, forcible and convincing manner of expressing himself, were made plain and perceptible to the most ordinary understanding. When he retired from the bench he lacked three weeks of being sixty-five years of age, but, notwithstanding his advanced years, he was not long allowed to remain in retirement, but in 1844 was called to the state senate and for four years thereafter sat in the legislative halls of the state and assisted in making the laws by which he was to be governed. At the age of seventy years he withdrew from public life and spent the remainder of his days at Woodlands, his pleasant home, situated one mile from Natchez, where he passed from life on the 23d of May, 1860, being then in his eighty-second year. He was a man of exceptionally noble character, generous to a fault, kind and considerate to his family, and a faithful and generous friend. He was fond of society and in social circles was esteemed for his rare conversational powers, his gracious and deferential manners. He possessed decided literary tastes, and had been an extensive reader on most subjects. He was a thirty-second degree Mason and for many years had been a devout member of the Episcopal church. In person he was of commanding presence, being six feet two inches in hight, and his complexion was fair. His widow survived him until September 16, 1878, when she, too, was called from life, having borne her husband four children: Mary Louisa, now the widow of John T. McMurran; Edward, who died in the month of August, 1823; Elizabeth Frances, who was born in July, 1827, and died the following year, and Elizabeth Frances (second), born December 7, 1829, and now the wife of Lemuel Parker Conner, a talented and successful lawyer. These two sisters live on the old homestead, which has been the abiding place of some member of the family since 1856, but the estate now comprises seventy-five acres. It was in former times a large cotton plantation and was very valuable.

Henry C. Turner, merchant and planter, Canton, Miss., is one of the prominent men of Madison county, Miss., who, singlehanded, have had to carve out his own career in life, and that he has been successful thus far is not to be doubted for a moment, when a glance is cast over his well-kept farm. He owns fourteen hundred acres of land, with eight hundred acres under cultivation, and he is also engaged in merchandising, carrying a stock of goods valued at $500. He is wideawake and industrious, and being honest in his dealings and represen- tations merits the esteem with which he is regarded. He is one of the substantial citizens, and is ever ready with his means and influence to further any good cause. He was born in Wilcox county, Ala., on the 16th of August, 1844, and is the fifth of six children born to Reuben

930

BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL

P. and Phoebe A. (Bishop) Turner, natives of Georgia. The father, who followed planting all his life, came to Mississippi in 1858, and died in 1875. His wife died in 1870. His father was A. J. Turner, also of Georgia, and her mother was Patience (Alford) Bishop, of that state also. Henry C. Turner was reared in Georgia and Mississippi, and received his education in the private schools of the same. He has been married twice, first, in 1868, to Miss Emma P. Pace, a native of Mississippi, and the daughter of James M. and Amanda J. Pace, natives of Tennessee. They had one child, Emma M., now deceased. In 1872 Mr. Turner married Miss Mattie E. Holliday, who was born in Mississippi, and who is the daughter of Isaac N. and Elizabeth A. Holliday, both also natives of the Bayou state. To Mr. and Mrs. Turner were born four children: Trocher S., Ruloff P., Hooker and Grady S. Mr. Turner served during the late unpleasantness between the North and South, enlisting in 1863, in company C, Withers' light artillery, and was with the same a short time before the war ended. He was discharged in 1864 on account of ill health. Mr. Turner takes a prominent part in politics and is a nominee for the state legislature for his county on the democratic ticket. He and his family are members of the Methodist church.

L. R. Turner is a native of Grenada county, Miss., where he was born on the 2d of April, 1856, the eldest of five children born to the marriage of R. H. Turner and Martha Miller, the former of whom was born in South Carolina, and is by occupation a farmer. L. R. Turner was an attendant of the common schools of his native county up to the age of twelve years, at which time he entered college at Columbia, S. C., in which institution he completed his junior year. He then read law for some time, but was not admitted to the bar, as he did not like the profession. In 1884 Mr. Turner was elected chancery clerk of Grenada county, Miss., for one term, at the expiration of which he opened up a general mercantile establishment at Grenada, and for about one year his business was quite pros- perous. He then removed to his farm near the town of Grenada, where he remained for eighteen months, actively engaged in fitting it up for occupation. Of the nine hundred acres of land, of which he is now the owner, he has six hundred acres under cultivation. Mr. Turner came to Hinds county in September, 1890, but until the month of January, 1891, remained in Raymond, when he purchased and moved to the Mrs. Estes' property, which contains two thousand two hundred and seventeen acres, of which nine hundred aeres are at the present time given to pasture, the rest being under cultivation. His is one of the best improved plantations in Hinds county, the house alone costing $10,000 just after the war. Mr. Turner also has a five thousand acre tract in Tallahatchie county, but it is unimproved. Mr. Turner is a Master Mason and he and his estimable wife are members of the Episcopal church. He was married February 22, 1887, to Miss Evelyn Summers, a native of Hinds county, by whom he has one child: Lewis S. Mrs. Turner received her education chiefly at Bardstown, Ky., but did not get to complete her course of study on account of sickness. Mr. Turner is of a practical turn of mind, very wideawake and progressive, and although he is still a young man he has a beautiful and comfortable home, and bids fair to become very wealthy.

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 146

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