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 149

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 149

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BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL

wound by grape shot. In February, after the battle of Fredericksburg, he was promoted to the rank of captain and was transferred to the commissary department. He was as such in the campaigns at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, and later was transferred from the army of northern Virginia to the western division under the command of Gen. Joseph Johnston, and was assigned to duty as post commissary at Mt. Carmel, Miss., where he remained until the surrender. Prior to the war, in 1854, he was elected mayor of Woodville, was chosen state's attorney three years later, and in 1859 was elected to the state legislature. In the last named year he was united in marriage to Miss Anna Blount, who was born in Louisiana, May 21, 1838, her native parish being West Feliciana. She received her education in St. Mary's hall, Burlington, N. J., and upon graduating was considered one of the most brilliant and accomplished young ladies that ever left that institution. She was especially gifted in art and music and has all her life been a lover of good literature, and is considered an acquisition to any society. She moves in the highest social circles, and her manner is at all times characterized by grace, ease and dignity. Her father, Levi Blount, was born in North Carolina, but after leaving his native county of Beaufort, he took up his residence in Louis- iana, where he became a wealthy planter. He traced his ancestry back to the time of Charles I, of England, through the following men: Nathaniel Blount, an Episcopal minister of prominence who was ordained in St. Paul's church, London, England, in 1772-3; Reading Blount, Thomas Blount of Chocminity, N. C., Thomas Blount of England, and Sir Walter Blount, who was created baronet by Charles I on October 5, 1642. About 1669 three of Sir Walter Blount's sons emigrated to America, one settling in Virginia, where he became the head of a long line of descendants, but the other two, James and Thomas crossed over into North Carolina, and settled in the country bordering upon Albemarle sound, Thomas becoming the father of a large family that he reared at Chocminity. One of his sons, Col. Jacob Blount, became the father of William Blount, who was an able officer in the Contin- ental army during the Revolution, and was a member of the Continental congress and a member of the convention that framed the constitution for the United States. He afterward became governor of the territory south of the Ohio river, and was a senator in congress from 1783 to 1797, from the state of Tennessee. Willie Blount, his younger brother, who was his private and official secretary while senator, and who succeeded him in the administration of the duties of governor of Tennessee, (which position he filled for many years), were cousins of Levi Blount, the father of Mrs. Van Eaton. The latter's mother was a native of Boston, Mass., and lived to be eighty-three years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Blount were active members of the Episcopal church, and will long be remembered for their many generous, charitable and kindly deeds. Rev. Nathaniel Blount became distinguished as a divine and was the founder and builder of the church in Washington, N. C., which still stands as a memento of his labor, aud is still known as Parson Blount's church. In 1880 Mr. Van Eaton was appointed to the office of chancellor of the district by Governor Stone, and in 1883, while on the bench, was nominated and elected to the XLVIIIth congress of the United States, and was afterward returned to the XLIXth congress, which position he filled with credit to himself and his constituents.

He has advanced the interests of the section where he has so long made his home by every- means in his power, and has been an earnest champion of all measures for the improv- ing of his state. He was a strong advocate of the Morrison tariff bill, and all measures tending to political reform, and his reasons for his convictions are alway clear and well defined. During the campaign of 1889, when the question was asked, "Whom shall we have for governor of Mississippi?"' Major Van Eaton's name was frequently heard men-

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tioned as an admirable man for that responsible position of trust, but he steadily refused to allow his name to go before the convention as a candidate. While he was grateful to his many friends and for the flattering remarks made of him in the journals of the state, and particularly the delta and southwestern portions, he thought it better to live in retirement from public life for a time. While chancellor of the tenth district he was considered a con- scientious and impartial judge, and soon won encomiums from all for the correctness of his decisions. He was one of the directors of the West Feliciana railroad, as well as their attorney for upward of twenty years, before it fell into the hands of the present owners. In connection with his practice much of his attention is devoted to planting. He is a member of Woodville lodge No. 63, of the A. F. & A. M. ; the K. of H. and the I. O. O. F., and has held various chairs in each order. He has been high priest of the chapter, worshipful master of his Masonic lodge and grand master of the state in the I. O. O. F. He has a very valuable souvenir, which was presented to him by the two lodges of Woodville, as a token of their esteem, which he values very highly. He has always been a warm patron of education, and was elected one of the trustees and treasurer of the board of the McGehee Female college. From 1853 until 1856 he edited the Woodville Republican, and being an able writer, as well as an eloquent and forcible speaker, his editorials on the current topics of the times were read with much interest and profit. He was appointed by President Cleveland as one of the board of visitors to the naval academy at Annapolis, in 1887, and was appointed by him, in 1888, as one of the commissioners to view the completed portion of the North- ern Pacific railroad. Mrs. Van Eaton accompanied her husband on this trip, joining the party at the Palmer house, Chicago, and went by special car to and from the Pacific coast. Mr. and Mrs. Van Eaton are worthy members of St. Paul's Episcopal church, in which Mr. Van Eaton is a vestryman. He and his amiable wife are highly esteemed in social circles, and in their beautiful and attractive home, where good taste and refine- ment prevails, they dispense the generous and true-hearted hospitality for which the South is famous.

Mrs. Thirmutheus H. Van Eaton is an accomplished and refined lady, and is a member of one of the leading families of Coahoma county. She was born in Colbert county, Ala., March 1, 1858, being the youngest of seven children born to Asa and Adaline (Ligor) Cobb, natives of Tennessee and Alabama, respectively. Asa Cobb came to Coahoma county, Miss., in 1858; was one of the first settlers of the county, and became one of its most influential citizens. He was for a number of years a member of the board of supervisors, and was a large slave and landowner before the war. He did not take an active part in the strug- gle between the North and South, but his eldest son Thomas was an active participant, was a member of a scouting company, and once distinguished himself by routing an entire company of Union soldiers who were intent on his capture, and were about to overtake him. He turned suddenly and began firing into them, shouting, come on boys, and they, thinking doubtless, that he had led them into the ranks of his own company, beat a precipitate retreat, and he then made his way to his company. The maternal grandparents were James and Mary (Ganneway) Ligon, of Alabama, the former of whom was one of the most prominent citizens of Colbert county, Ala., and held the office of sheriff of that county for twenty years, in the discharge of which duties he distinguished himself as a brave, tried and true custodian of the public's interest. Mrs. Van Eaton was reared in Coahoma county, Miss., and was educated at Pontotoc. In 1874 she was married to Frank R. Van Eaton, a native of Alabama, and the youngest of three children born to Dr. Isaac and Sarah E. (Martin) Van Eaton, the former a native of North Carolina, and the latter of Cincinnati, Ohio.

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Isaac Van Eaton came to Mississippi in 1872, and located in Coahoma county, where he prac- ticed medicine, having graduated from the Ohio Medical college of Cincinnati. He arose to eminence in his profession, but died three years after locating in this section. Frank R. Van Eaton came to this state in 1870, having received his education in the schools of Lebanon, Ohio, and graduating from the same medical institution as his father. They practiced together in Mississippi, until the father's death, after which Frank R. prac- ticed alone, and also followed the occupation of planting, until he was called from life in 1891, at the age of forty-two years, his birth having occurred on the 31st of July, 1848. He was a cousin of Judge Henry Van Eaton, of Greenville. His maternal grandfather's real name was Emanuel Suezza, but when a lad of nine years he was stolen from his home by a crew of Englishmen, who brought him to America, landing at New York, where he managed to escape from them and found refuge with a man by the name of John Martin, whose name he afterward adopted. At the age of twenty eight years he went to Cincin- nati, Ohio, where he married and lived for some time. Mrs. Van Eaton's union resulted in the birth of three children: Lula Lake, Isaac Hampton, and Addie Cobb, all of whom reside with their mother. Mrs. Van Eaton is the owner of eighteen hundred acres of land, seven hundred of which are under cultivation, and in the management of her prop- erty has shown herself to be shrewd and practical. She is an earnest member of the Baptist church, and is a talented and handsome woman.

Thomas H. B. Van Hoozer, Torrance, Miss., is one of the oldest settlers of Yalobusha county, and is fully entitled to a space in this record of the pioneers of Mississippi. He was born in Limestone county, Ala., in 1842, and is a son of John and Elizabeth (Powell) Van Hoozer, natives of Tennessee and Alabama, respectively. Mrs. Van Hoozer was a relative of the Burneys, of Oxford, Miss. She and her husband emigrated from Alabama to Missis- sippi in 1845, making the journey by wagons; they settled in the neighborhood of Torrance, and two years later purchased land near the same place. The father died in January, 1869, aged fifty-nine years; the mother died December 11, 1868, at the age of fifty-seven years. Ten children were born of this marriage, all of whom lived to maturity : Robert S., a farmer, lives in Water Valley, Miss .; Tra L., lives west of Coldwater, Miss .; he is a farmer; Mattie is the wife of John Gillon, and resides near Torrance; Thomas H. B. is next in order; Tabitha E., is the wife of Daniel G. Anthony, and resides with the subject of this sketch; Elizabeth is the wife of Frank M. Spears, and lives in Grenada county; Rosa married O. P. Farrell, and lives in Yalobusha county; John B. is a farmer near Torrance; Agnes, married Charles Farrell, and lives in Grenada county; Mary, the eldest child, married G. W. Williams; both are deceased, leaving eight children. Our subject was reared in Yalobusha county, Miss., within six miles of the place on which he is now living. His educational advan- tages were somewhat limited, but he acquired sufficient information to meet the demands of ordinary business life. He remained under the paternal roof until the beginning of the war when he enlisted in the Fifteenth Mississippi volunteer infantry. He was wounded in the battle of Franklin, Tenn., and at New Hope, Ga. ; at the former place he was captured, and was held prisoner until June, 1865. He was with Hood on his campaign from Georgia to Tennessee; he was taken to Nashville, Tenn., in December, 1864, and, as before stated, was not released until June, 1865. He resumed farming as soon as he was recovered from his wounds, which he continued until March, 1873, when he located in Torrance, and embarked in the general mercantile trade; at one time he was postmaster, and he has not wholly relin- quished his agricultural pursuits. Mr. Van Hoozer was married in 1868, to Miss Olivia Horton, a native of Mississippi, and a daughter of Robert Horton, one of the very earliest

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settlers of this county; he assisted in the building of the first courthouse in the county. He married Louisa Ridley, and to them were born thirteen children, nine of whom lived to ma- turity. He died at the age of seventy-six years, and Mrs. Horton lived to be seventy-two years old. Mr. and Mrs. Van Hoozer have had born to them eight children, four of whom have died; those living are: Willie, Mamie, Alama and Ethel; Louisa, Thomas, Vincent and Benton are dead; the last named was burned to death at the age of two years. Mrs. Van Hoozer was educated at Grenada, Miss., and she is a member of the Baptist church. Mr. Van Hoozer is a member of the Masonic lodge at Coffeeville No. 83. He is a man of deep integrity of character, and holds a place in the esteem of his fellow-citizens of which any one might well be proud.

John O. Vann, who has for many years been identified with the commercial and agri- cultural interests of Yalobusha county, will next claim the attention of the reader. He was born in Gates county, N. C., April 28, 1828, and is a son of Harrison and Julia Ann (Field) Vann, also natives of North Carolina. The father was born in 1790, and was the son of John Vann who immigrated to this country, from England, with his father, and settled in North Carolina, where he engaged in farming. He lived to be an old man, and reared a family of three sons and one daughter. Harrison, the father of John O., passed his youth on a farm, and in later years was occupied with house carpentering. He came to Mississippi in 1870, and died in January, 1871. His wife was born in 1800, and died in the state of Mississippi in the spring of 1870, before the arrival of her husband there. She was the daughter of Mills R. Field, a well-known citizen of Gates county, N. C. He was a man of fine educa- tion, and much more than ordinary ability. He lived to be more than seventy-five years of age and reared a family of four sons and one daughter. John O. Vann has now in his pos- session the first dollar ever owned by Mills R. Field, and it is about one hundred and twenty- five years old. Harrison Vann and wife had born to them eleven children; one died in infancy, and the others lived to maturity. John O. is the youngest of the family, and grew to manhood in Gates county, N. C. He had but few opportunities for acquiring au educa- tion, as his parents were in moderate circumstances. At the age of twenty years he bade farewell to his home and friends and came overland to the state of Mississippi. He traveled with a man and family who were looking for a new home. At first he worked at anything that offered until 1850, when he went to Oxford and worked at his trade. The following year he spent in school at Mount Vernon, and June 3, 1852, he was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Spearman, a daughter of Robert Spearman, a native of South Carolina. Mrs. Vann was born in 1817, February 19, and came with her parents to Mississippi, in 1842. She died September 20, 1885, leaving two children: John E. of the enterprising firm of Vann & Beadles, dealers in general merchandise, and Julia Ann, wife of W. D. York, a resident of Yalobusha county. The mother of these children was an earnest Christian, and a consistent member of the Baptist church. Mr. Vann was married a second time to Mrs. S. A. York. She was born in the state of Alabama in 1828, and is a daughter of Robert Perkins, who emigrated from Virginia to Alabama when a young man; there he married Elizabeth Hooper, a native of Georgia, and they came to Mississippi in 1848, and settled near Coffeeville. They had ten children, all of whom lived to be grown. Mrs. Vann was the second child, and she was first married to Daniel York, a native of Tennessee. He was born in 1810 and died in 1870 leaving a family of eight children: William, Lucy, John, Sally, Elisha are still living; those deceased are Lizzie, Harriet and James. Mr. and Mrs. Vann are both members of the Bap- tist church. Mr. Vann enlisted in the regiment of Colonel Gordon, participated in many engagements, was taken prisoner at Selma, Ala. ; sent to a place near Atlanta, and finally

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paroled, after which he returned to his home. He is now one of the largest planters of the county. In 1880 he embarked in the general mercantile trade at Coffeeville, and has since turned that business over to his son, J. E. Vann. He owns twenty-three hundred acres of land, one thousand of which are under good cultivation. He is a man of excellent business qualifications, and has made a success of life from every standpoint. Politically he affiliates with the democratic party. Mrs. Vann has a farm of eight hundred acres in her own name. This is also in a high state of cultivation.

Samuel T. Van Norman. The family of Van Norman is originally from Holland, and the first member of the family of whom much is known is Aaron Van Norman, who was born in the state of New York. At an early day he became a resident of Indiana, and from that state came to Mississippi in the year 1831, and became a resident of Amite county. He served his country in the War of 1812, and made a faithful and efficient soldier. Hiram Van Norman, his son and father of the immediate subject of this sketch, was also born in New York, and during his father's different changes of residence he removed from place to place with him, but attained his manhood in the state of Indiana, where he was married to Miss Elizabeth Waldon, daughter of Moses Waldon. Mrs. Van Norman was reared in Kentucky, but soon after her marriage she and her husband came to Mississippi and engaged in planting and milling a few miles west of Liberty. Mr. Van Norman afterward moved to the town and established a tan yard and soon built up an extensive trade and a lucrative business. He continued this calling up to the breaking out of the late war. He was an honorable and useful member of society, was a man whose views of life were worthy and to his credit, and every enterprise in which he took an interest, was practically benefited by his notice. His brother, William Van Norman, was quite a prominent politician of Amite county, which he represented in both houses of the state legislature. He afterward took up his residence in the Lone Star state and there was called from life. S. T. Van Norman, whose name stands at the head of this biography, is the youngest son of a family of four sons and four daughters, and in Liberty, Miss., he first saw the light of day, September 5, 1837. He received but limited educational advantages in this county, but in 1858, with a determination to change this state of affairs, he went to Missouri and for one year attended school in Chillicothe, where he improved rapidly in his studies. In his early youth he had learned the harness-maker's trade but abandoned that business for a few years to engage in planting, after which he returned to his native town and for a short time previous to the war was engaged in merchandising. The coming clash of arms caused him to cast every personal consideration aside, and with the enthusiasm of youth he, in September, 1861, enlisted in the Seventh Mississippi infantry, company C, and until the close of the war served the cause he esponsed with that intrepidity, courage aud fidelity for which the Southern soldier was famous. He was in the bloody and disastrous battle of Shiloh; at Murfreesboro, in the engagements around Atlanta, at Jonesboro; the two day's fight at Nashville, also taking an active part in many engagements of less importance. He served on detached duty for over one year, and surrendered with his regiment at Greenville, N. C., after which he returned to Amite county and settled down to the peaceful pursuit of planting on the plantation where he now resides. He has devoted his time and energies to this calling and as a reward for the indomitable industry, push and enterprise he has always displayed, he is the owner of seven hundred acres of valuable land adjoining the town of Gloster, which was laid out on his land, and here he sold quite a number of acres to advantage for town purposes. He has used his influence to build up the town and advance the interests of the place, and as the town of Gloster is a thriving and prosperous place, he may be said to have succeeded. Mr. Van Nor-

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man is a man of good business habits and at all times manifests an enterprising spirit and a deep interest in the welfare of the county. He has always upheld the principles of democracy but has never been an aspirant for office. He has shown his approval of secret organizations by becoming a member of the Masonic fraternity, and has been much inter- ested in the workings of this order. In the month of January, 1861, he was married to Miss Naomi, daughter of G. B. McLain, one of the early and prominent farmers of Mississippi, and in time a family of eleven children gathered about their board, their names being as follows: Leila, Amanda, Albert, Florence, wife of J. B. Cason; Bessie, Robert, Jennie, Samuel, Curtis, Anna and Myrtle. Leila, the eldest daughter, married W. T. Caston. In the Baptist church of Gloster, of which Mr. Van Norman has long been a member, he holds the positions of deacon, church-clerk and treasurer. In the various affairs of the county Mr. Van Norman exerts an influence which all feel, and as his friends are numerous, this speaks in an admirable manner of his many worthy qualities of mind and heart.

John H. Vanslyke, an enterprising and wideawake merchant of Ellisville, Miss., was born at Raleigh, Smith county, Miss., February 19, 1855. His parents were Jesse and Mary E. (Connerly) Vanslyke, natives of New York and South Carolina, respectively. They came to Mississippi at an early day, and were married in Smith county, and there passed the remainder of their lives. They became the parents of three children: Margaret E .; Morgan, and John H. Of these, John H., our subject, was the eldest. He attended the home district schools in his county, and by diligent study and close application to his books, he acquired a thorough, practical education, which he supplemented by a course at Johnson's Commercial academy. In 1877 he secured employment as a salesman in the store of John F. Cham- penois, of Shubuta, Miss., with whom he remained in this capacity until the 1st of March, 1883, at which time he became a partner with his employer and removed to Ellisville, open- ing a store at that place. In February, 1885, he purchased the interest of Mr. Champenois, and has since conducted the business and is sole proprietor. He has gained an extensive trade, and in connection with the mercantile business is largely engaged in planting and stock- raising. He owns two thousand five hundred acres of land, which is very valuable. He was married at Shubuta, March 4, 1882, to Lulu E., the daughter of John and Fannie R. (Copeland) Champenois, who was born in Shubuta, May 12, 1864. Mr. Vanslyke is a member of the Masonic order, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Our subject is an enterprising citizen, of good principles, and has been successful in every enterprise which he has taken in hand. He enjoys, to a marked degree, the respect of his fellow citizens, and as a merchant and man of affairs, he has the confidence of all classes with whom he comes in contact.

In the front ranks of Carroll county's professional men is Dr. George W. Vasser, physician and surgeon, Carrollton, Miss., whose career will be briefly outlined in the fol- lowing page. He was born in Halifax county, Va., April 4, 1826, and is a son of Elijah H. Vasser, also a native of Virginia. The father of Elijah H. Vasser was a Virginian by birth, and of English descent. The Vassers are among the F. F. V.'s of Virginia. Elijah H. Vasser married in Halifax county, Va., Mary H. Womack, a native of that state and county, and a daughter of Capt. William Womack. He removed to Alabama about the year 1838, and located at Athens, where he resided five years, and then went to Monroe county, Miss., settling near the present site of Egypt station; his death occurred there in 1847. George W. Vasser passed his youth in Mississippi and Alabama, receiving his education at a private seminary in Athens, Ala. After completing his literary studies he began to study medicine in Monroe county, Miss. He took his first course of lectures at the University of Pennsyl-

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vania, and was graduated from this renowned institution of learning in 1848. He then returned to Monroe county, Miss., and entered upon his professional career. In 1854 he removed to Carroll county, continuing his practice. Since 1861 he has been a resident of Carrollton. He is a skillful, conscientious physician, and has won a large patronage. He is a student to this day, never having abandoned the attitude of seeking information and advanced opinions, which he occupied in the beginning of his professional studies. He is a member of the State Medical society, where his skill and experience render his attendance of great benefit to younger members. He fills the office of health officer of Carroll county. Dr. Vasser was united in the holy bonds of matrimony, in Monroe county, Miss., in 1851, to Miss Eliza Roseborough, a native of South Carolina, but a Mississippian by adoption. One child, a daughter, Ella, has been born to the Doctor and his wife; she is the wife of the Hon. T. H. Somerville, of Winona, Miss. In his fraternal relations, our subject is identified with the Masonic order, being a Royal Arch Mason. He is past master, and has represented his lodge at the grand lodge of Mississippi on several different occasions.

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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 149

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