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 154

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 154

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Mr. Walter was an ardent friend to the interest of education. He took great pride in the prospects of the University of Mississippi, and was, at the time of his death, one of its trustees. Refined and elevated in his sentiments, temperate in his habits, lofty in his aspi- rations, he was a devoted Christian, and the patrou of every moral and religious promotion. He was long a conspicuous member of the Masonic fraternity, and after having presided over its various subordinate bodies, was, in 1844, made grand master of the state lodge. He was a Mason, not only in the mere superficialities of the order, but in heart, in practice and in all the walks of life. Mr. Walter was intensely Southern in his principles, yet, as a whig, he opposed the doctrines of secession until he considered that measure an inexorable alternative to the dishonor and political degradation of his people, and then he was ready, as he was in every thing that engaged his sympathies, to sacrifice whatever its promotion might demand. No sooner had the tocsin of war sounded than he girded himself for the struggle, and as lieutenant of a company of infantry he responded to the first call of his state for troops in 1861. He was ordered to Pensacola, and soon after reaching there was transferred to the staff of General Bragg as judge advocate, serving in that position with distinguished efficiency until the close of the war. Colonel Walter accepted the conclusion of the conflict with the same conscientious and abiding faith with which he had drawn his sword, and returning to Holly Springs he resumed the practice of his profession, counseled a conservative and dignified policy, and devoted himself to the amelioration of the rigorous circumstances of his people. As a lawyer he was well read and profound. His comprehen- sion was ready and acute; the succession of his thoughts was logical, and his argumentative powers clear, vigorous and incisive. The versatility of his legal genius was remarkable, and he seemed to be equally qualified for eminence in either branch of the profession. His high

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sense of duty and devotion to the interests of his clients engaged at all occasions bis utmost powers. The distinguished jurist, Hon. A. M. Clayton, speaking of Colonel Walter, said: "He possessed to an eminent degree the two most requisite characteristics of a lawyer, patience and perseverance. He saw his end clearly, and never grew tired in pursuing it. He never saw but one side of a case, and that was his own. He overlooked all obstacles that stood in his way, and drove on to the conclusions regardless of their preseuce, and if not always successful, he always presented the strongest and most favorable view of the case." His logical learning and powers of analysis are amply exhibited in his briefs in the reports of the supreme court. These are too well known to the profession to require more than a passing reference. His knowledge was ever at his command, and he was never at a loss for replication or retort. His stores of preceding were comprehensive, and which the quickness and alertness of his memory and mental operations enabled him to call to bis support in every emergency. He was a clear reasoner, an eloquent speaker, and possessed a mesmeric influence over the minds of juries. As a citizen, Colonel Walter had no superior in his sphere of neighborly usefulness. While he was conspicuous in every public assembly, he was the center of the social circle and the welcomed and honored guest of every private entertainment. Generous and magnanimous in principle, he was courteous and affable to all classes, and his opinion was deemed the criterion of propriety and expediency. But the crowning gem in his chaplet of exalted virtues was the jewel of charity, which sparkled more brilliantly than that which blazed in Diomede's crest or flamed in the imagination of the alchemist. He was at all times noted as a man of good deeds, but it was when that besom of death with its ministers of grief and pain swept over his devoted town in 1878 that this divine quality of his nature was exemplified with more than mortal radiance. When the neighboring town of Grenada had fallen into the arms of the inexorable fiend, and its shrieks reached the gates of Holly Springs, they were flung wide open to its flying, homeless people, and Colonel Walter was mainly the author of the deed. He opposed all quarantine regulations, and opened his heart, his hands and his house to the terror-stricken refugees, and when the fatal malady, lurking in the garments of the strangers, reached forth and seized upon his own people, he counseled them all to flee for their lives, but said : " As for me and my sons, we can not go; we must fight this foe; we must succor our people and administer to the sick, the dying and the dead."

Col. Walter's family was a remarkably interesting one. He was married in 1849 to Miss Fredonia M. Brown, daughter of Col. James Brown, of Oxford, a lady of rare accom- plishments and of an exceedingly amiable character. From this marriage were born ten children, nine of whom lived until the visitation of the scourge. He had promptly, at the out- break of the fever, sent his family away except his three sons, who partook of the heroic spirit of their father and shared his glorious death. While in the midst of his charitable labors Colonel Walter was himself stricken down, on the 19th day of September, 1878, and his three sons followed him within the same week. The noble young men had but recently graduated with distinction at the state university, and Frank was a law partner with his father. He and Jimmie, who was acting as postmaster, died on the same day, the latter praying that his life might be spared for the sake of his mother and little sisters. Avent, who passed away a few days before, died rejoicing at the thought of meeting his mother, his father, his brothers and sisters in heaven. The pious death of this young man would furnish a theme for a sermon that would echo against the walls of eternity. Thus perished this noble family while endeavoring to ward from others the shafts more fatal than the arrows of Apollo sent into the Grecian camps on the plains of Troy. Amid all these scenes of terror, when the eyes

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of heaven seemed averted from the doomed people, Colonel Walter still bowed to the will of his Maker. On one occasion a young wife who had just lost her husband, and who now saw other members of her family dying, half crazed with grief, wandered through the streets in desperation at her calamities. Colonel Walter met her and endeavored to soothe and com- fort her agonizing distress, but in the bitterness of her grief she cried out against the justice of God. His eloquent and only reply was, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him." No nobler martyrdom was ever recorded upon the pages of history, or hallowed the memory of mortal than that which crowned the death of this good man and his three noble and promising sons, but they have their reward. Frank C. Walter was boru October 23, 1854, and died of the fever on the 26th of September, 1878. He was among the most prominent of those kind, true, noble-hearted ones who sacrificed their lives during the epidemic of Holly Springs in endeavoring to alleviate the sufferings of those who had been stricken down with the plague. In the fall of 1871 he entered the sophomore class at the University of Mississippi, and owing to his firmness and great decision of character, his purity of thought and his high sense of honor, his integrity and liberality of heart, he soon became the favorite of all, both professors and students, and being possessed of an extraor- dinary ability, as well as an ambitious energy, a discriminating mind and the power of con- centrating thought, he graduated in the summer of 1874 in two distinct courses, the A. B. and B. S., in the former with the third honor and in the latter with the second. Shortly after his return home he commenced the study of law, under his father, and soon after was admitted to the bar in Holly Springs, his native place. As a young attorney he managed his cases with wonderful ability, and his argument of them was not only forcible but also analytical and logical. His manners toward all, whatever may have been their station in life, were kind, polite and refined. His social nature was of a remarkable development, and he delighted in making himself pleasant to all around him. Had he lived, he was destined to be a leader among men. When refugees from the yellow fever came to Holly Springs and were taken sick by that direst of diseases, he was one of the first to offer his services to nurse them. After the fever broke out in his own city, and the people were fleeing from its poisoned atmosphere in which death had planted its destroying germ, he was asked if he was not going to leave also. His reply was: "No, let my epitaph be duty." How grand, how sublime, how noble is the sentiment! With the unswerving energy of a Titan he adhered to his motto, ministering to the unfortunate sick and afflicted, burying the dead and cheering those who were mourning for loved ones, until at last, he too, after having buried his father and brother, was seized by death and ushered into eternity.

Edward Cary Walthall, United States senator from Mississippi, was born at Richmond, Va., April 4, 1831. He received his education at Holly Springs, Miss., studied law in that city, and at the age of twenty-one years was admitted to the bar of the state. Establishing himself at Coffeeville, his talents soon won recognition, and in 1856 he was elected attorney for the tenth judicial district of the state. Three years after he was reelected, but in less than two years resigned the office to take part in defending the property of the Southern people against the fanaticism of a powerful minority in the North. In 1861 he entered the Fifteenth Mississippi infantry as lieutenant, and made such a brilliant record that promo- tion followed promotion in quick succession. He was a lieutenant-colonel in 1862, and commanded the Fifteenth Mississippi infantry at Fishing Creek, Ky., January 19, that year. Immediately after he was commissioned colonel of the Twenty-ninth Mississippi infantry, aud on December 13, 1862, was raised to the rank of brigadier-general. His services in the field won general recognition throughout the Confederacy, and his name was not unknown

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among the legions of the North. Prompt in war as genial in peace, he won the hearts of the Southern people, and drove those of the North to admire his courage and his methods. On June 6, 1864, he was promoted major-general in the western army, and at Missionary Ridge undertook the forlorn hope of holding the divide against the Federal mass of eighty thou- sand men, until the defeated army was beyond pursuit. From this dangerous position he led his brigade in perfect order, that night of October 25, 1863, and next day was hailed as the savior of the western army. Late in the afternoon of that terrible day three divisions of General Thomas' army, led by Phil. Sheridan, attacked the Confederate center and right on this ridge, broke through the Confederate lines, and would have captured or killed the defeated army of Hood had not Walthall's brigade interposed and checked the pursuit until night brought relief. This strategic movement rescued a great army for future work in 1864, when Hood re-occupied Tennessee and fought the terrific fight at Franklin. After the . defeat of Hood there, General Walthall played almost a similar part to that at Mission- ary Ridge, for, forming the rear guard of that army, he protected it against the attacks of the victors until a secure position was reached. These are only a few instances of the brilliant and valuable services rendered by him in the field.

In 1868 he was delegate at large to the national democratic convention. In January, 1871, he established himself at Grenada as a member of the bar, and won high honore in the profession for the ensuing sixteen years. In 1876 he was chosen delegate at large to the democratic national convention; again in 1880 and again in 1884. On the resignation of United States Senator Lamar to accept the position of secretary of the interior, in 1885, Gen- eral Walthall was appointed to fill the vacancy in the United States senate by Governor Lowry, on petition of the people, and in January, 1886, the Mississippi legislature elected him United States senator, and in January, 1888, he was elected senator for the term ending in 1895, without a dissenting vote. The share taken by the senator in defeating the sectional bill, commonly termed the force bill, is recorded by the Washington (D. C.) Post in the following language:

The speech of Mr. Walthall, of Mississippi, against the Federal elections bill, delivered in the sen- ate on December 19, 1890, was a clear, logical and dispassionate presentation of the case from a Southern standpoint. As a citizen of a state where, perhaps, to use his own language, "the heaviest calamities would fall" in case the proposed legislation is enacted into law, his remarks commanded close attention, and the keenest partisan scrutiny will fail to detect in them, or even between their lines, a single thought or sentiment that does not bear the inpress of sincere and patriotic conviction, even though it fail to agree in all respects with his conclusions. His appeal to the senate and argument to the country were characterized by no less candor than force, and an earnest conservatism, in the presence of which sec- tional prejudice must confess itself practically disarmed. Mr. Walthall makes no concealment of the fact that in times past illegal acts have been committed in connection with elections, nor does he claim that even now the elections in Mississippi are wholly free from " reprehensible practices and lawless methods," but he does insist, with a strenuousness borne out by the record, that the tendency is " away from violence, and toward tolerance and justice." As evidence in support of this position, he produces the statement of Gov- ernor Lowry to the effect that during the past five years not a single instance is found in any of the seventy- four counties of the state, where anybody has been killed or injured on account of elections or politics. The senator's main point is that under circumstances like these, with the reasons for Federal interference fast disappearing, if they ever existed, it would be the hight of unwisdom to resort to measures altogether at war with the situation and calculated to retard instead of advancing it. Nothing, he holds, can justify an arbitrary and dangerous interruption of the relations which now exist between the whites and blacks in the Southern section of the Union, nor can the difficulties of the race problem be worked out by iron rules.

The Machiavellian proposition to enact laws which would crush out the Caucasian race in the Southern states owes its defeat largely to the reasoning powers of Senator Walthall

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and his fellow-senator from Mississippi. The friends they made, in and out of congress, aided them in the battle, and won for General Walthall, among his own people, the title, the Corinthian Column, and for Senator George, the Gothic Pillar. The same sincerity, earnestness, promptness and ability which in 1863 and 1864 distinguished General Walthall, were not wanting in this emergency; for as he saved an army then, he saved half a nation now from the horror of legalized terrorism.

In October, 1891, when it was rumored that General Walthall would retire from the senate, a distinguished Mississippian, high in the official circle of the United States, paid the following tribute to him:

Mississippi ought not to tolerate for a moment the idea of acquiescing in the retirement of Senator Walthall. Of all the splendid men that she has ever presented to the nation, General Walthall is the one beyond all competition in moral purity, strength of mind, heroism of soul, and commanding influence among men. I know that the expression of my admiration for General Walthall has been ascribed to the enthusiasm of friendship. But no. My friendship is only the effect, not the cause, of my estimate of his qualities of mind and heart. I can tell you in this private letter my sober opinion, that all that General Walthall lacks of being the first man in America is the highest official station in America. You know this is not said for political effect. I heard Gen. Joseph E. Johnston once say, "Il the Confederate war had lasted two years longer General Walthall would have risen to the command of all the Confederate armies." This remark was elicited by one of my own in his presence, when I was asked who, among all the distinguished men, I had known, excelled in strength of mind and moral force of character, I replied that, "in vigor of intellect, simplicity of character, and unwavering moral rectitude, I regarded General Walthall as the greatest man I ever knew." General Johnston then said, "I am not surprised to hear you say that," adding what I have quoted above.

This is simply the echo of Mississippi. The same sentiment prevails wherever his record is known and it is acknowledged by his political opponents in congress.

For twenty years Edwin Smith Walton, Sardis, has been engaged in the insurance busi- ness in Panola county, Miss., and his principal business at the present time is adjusting fire losses for some of the best companies of the world. His fine business acumen has peculiarly fitted him for his present occupation, and he has the reputation of being one of the best adjusters of fire losses in the South. Always cool and deliberate, he weighs all business propositions with care and discretion. He is another of the representative citizens of the county who owe their nativity to North Carolina, his birth occurring in Gates county on the 31st of March, 1833, and is the eldest of four children born to Benbury and Ann K. (Mont- gomery) Walton, natives also of the Old North state. The father removed to La Grange, Tenn., in 1835, and from there, in 1850, to Oxford, Miss., for the purpose of educating his children. In 1854 he located in Panola county, Miss., and there died in 1879, at the age of seventy-eight years. His wife had died in 1850. He was quite an extensive planter. The paternal grandparents, John B. and Esther (Roberts) Walton, were natives also of North Carolina, and the grandfather was of English descent. Edwin Smith Walton was reared in La Grange, Tenn., and Oxford, Miss., entering the university at the latter place in 1850, and graduating with the class of 1853. He remained with his father as manager of the planta- tion until the beginning of the war, when he entered the Confederate army, mustered in May, 1861, into Pettus' flying artillery, commanded by Capt. Alfred Hudson, with which he remained until the close of the war. However, after the battle of Belmont, the company was attached to Bowen's brigade and called Hudson's battery. After the battle of Shiloh, where Hudson was killed, this battery was commanded by Sweeney and Mr. Walton, alternately, until the siege of Vicksburg, where Sweeney waskilled and Mr. Walton badly wounded. In the winter after this engagement Mr. Walton was paroled and ordered to report to General For- rest at Como, Miss. He then took command of the company, and it bore his name until the close

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of the war. He entered the ranks as a private, was promoted to a lieutenancy, which posi- tion he held until after the siege of Vicksburg, when his great ability as a commander was recognized and he was singled out to fill important positions, in all of which he manifested great bravery and skill. He participated in all the battles of his army in Mississippi and Tennessee, including Fort Pillow, the burning of Johnsonville and the capture of the boats there, which was mainly conducted by Mr. Walton. He was in almost constant engage- ments from the time of his enlistment until the surrender at Gainesville, Ala. He then returned home, resumed his work on the plantation which had been badly wrecked during the war, and in 1866 was married to Miss Fannie Shaw, a native of Tennessee and a daughter of Wiley and Eliza (Malone) Shaw, natives of Tennessee and North Carolina respectively. The result of this union has been one child, Lona, aged twelve years. In 1871 Mr. Walton came to Sardis, engaged in the fire insurance business, but at the same time has continued to carry on his planting interests. He is the owner of about one thousand acres of land with six hundred acres under cultivation, and he has a neat residence in Sardis, erected in 1888. He and Mrs. Walton are members of the Methodist church, and he has been steward in the same for about twenty-five years. Socially he is a member of the Masonic fraternity and the American Legion of Honor. He is cultured and refined, a zealous Christian, and is devoted to his family, sparing no pains to surround them with all the comforts in his power, but with no ostentation or show. He is generous almost to a fault, is liberal in his views and is char- itably inclined toward his fellowman. While he is ambitious to fill his mission in life and to do something and be somebody, he scorns the idea of being built on another's downfall.

J. T. Walton, planter, Acona, Miss., was born in Georgia, as were also his parents, J. B. and Mary (Moss) Walton. His birth occurred in 1831, and in 1836 his parents moved to Mississippi, settling near Lexington, where young Walton received the rudiments of an education. He subsequently entered the state university and remained there two years. On the 10th of September, 1853, he was wedded to Miss Thurman, who bore him six chil- dren: J. B. (died on the 1st of January, 1864), James D., Mattie T., H. W., L. A. and Johnnie M. Mr. Walton's occupation has always been that of a planter, and his fine farm, consisting of five hundred acres with two hundred acres under cultivation, is kept in excellent condition. He takes an active part in politics, but has never aspired for office, pre- ferring the quiet, steady life he is now following instead. In April, 1862, he enlisted in the Confederate service as a private and was taken prisoner at Lookout mountain. He was held in Rock Island prison for eighteen months and was then shipped to New Orleans, where he was released. He also took part in the battle of Murfreesboro. Returning home after the war he resumed his former occupation, which he has continued successfully up to the pres- ent time. His father was also a planter, took an active part in political affairs, but, like his son, never cared for office. The paternal grandfather, Benton Walton, was born in North Carolina but moved to Georgia and there passed the closing scenes of his life. His wife died in Mississippi. The maternal grandfather, John Moss, was a native Virginian and was a splendid specimen of manhood, standing six feet two inches and being well proportioned. His wife was a native of Georgia and in that state both passed the remainder of their days.

Douglas Walworth needs no special introduction to the inhabitants of Adams county, Miss., for he was born here on the 14th of June, 1833, and is now the popular and well-known editor of the Democrat, which is an admirably conducted and ably edited journal. He was the second child born to John P. and Sarah (Wren) Walworth, the former a native of New York and the latter of Illinois. The paternal grandfather, Judge John Walworth, of Cleveland, Ohio, was born in Connecticut and was one of the first judges of the

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Western reserve. He was a very prominent man of his day, and passed from life in Cleve- land. He was of English descent, his ancestors having come to America during colonial times. John P., Jr., father of the subject of this sketch, was educated in the state of New York, and in 1819 came to Mississippi, settling at Natchez, where he at once became a clerk in the postoffice, and after a time engaged in business for himself as a merchant. About 1833 he began planting extensively on land owned by him in Louisiana and Arkansas, but at the same time acted as president of the Planters' bank of Natchez. He was one of the active spirits of his times and was popular, public-spirited and very prominent. At the time of his death, in 1883, he was a venerated and respected resident of Natchez. He was married to Miss Wren in 1827, she being a daughter of Woodster Wren, a native of Virginia, who came to Natchez about ---. Mr. Walworth was active in city improvement, was a man of wide experience and extended knowledge, and through the long term of years that he resided in this region he was esteemed as one of its most valuable citizens. His widow, who still sur- vives him, is an earnest member of the Presbyterian church, and is in the enjoyment of good health. Douglas Walworth attended school in Natchez until 1851, when he entered Harvard college, where he remained two years, after which he was in Princeton college for one year. He was admitted to the bar of Jackson, Miss., in 1855, having pursued this study in the office of General Martin, of Natchez, and here he remained in the active practice of his pro- fession until the opening of the war. In 1859-60 he was elected by his numerous friends to the state legislature, and while a member of this body displayed mental qualities of a high order. At the opening of the war he assisted in raising the Light Gnard battalion and was elected captain of company I, of the Sixteenth Mississippi regiment, and was sent to north- ern Virginia, where be served one year in the infantry. He was then transferred to General Martin's staff as adjutant-general, and was in the battles of Thompson's Station, Knoxville, Farmington, Chickamauga, and many smaller engagements. After his return from the war he resumed the practice of his profession, but also followed planting. He was first married in the month of January, 1856, to Miss Rebecca Conner, a daughter of William Conner, a member of a prominent old family of this county, but he was called upon to mourn her death in 1868, she leaving him with one son and four daughters, all of whom are living. His sec- ond marriage took place in 1873, Miss Jeannette Haddermann, a daughter of Prof. Julius Haddermann, becoming his wife. She was reared principally in the city of Natchez, and here also received her education. She began a literary life when quite young, and her first book, Forgiven at Last, was issued in 1869, and was soon followed by Dead Men's Shoes. She has produced many other books, all of which have become popular, and her magazine articles also show power and are very meritorious. After about eight years spent in Natchez Mr. Walworth moved to New York city, and during the four years that he resided there he was engaged in legal and editorial work. Since 1888 he has been a constant resident of Natchez, and has been the able editor of the Democrat. He also edited the Natchez Courier in 1868-9. The family are members of the Presbyterian church, and Mr. Walworth is a worthy member of Harmony lodge No. 1, of the A. F. & A. M.

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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 154

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