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 161

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 161

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The Judge was married at Nashville, Tenn., June 15, 1837, to Mary T., daughter of Rev. John T. Edgar, D. D., who for thirty years was pastor of the Presbyterian church of that city. Her mother was Mary Todd, of Kentucky. The children born to the Judge's mar- riage, who are living at the present time, are: Thomas J., Jr., assistant postmaster at Jack- son; Iva, wife of J. J. Hampton; Margaret E., wife of George S. Green; Louisa E. and Sallie G. In hight Judge Wharton is about five feet eleven inches, thin and straight in form, exceptionally dignified in carriage. His well-shaped head is ornamented with a liberal growth of gray hair, and a mustache is the only adornment of his intellectual counte- nance. His eyes are blue and expressive, and although he is well along in years his mind is still vigorous and his step elastic. He is courteous and warm in his manner, especially to his acquaintances, and his generous heart is filled with the milk of human kindness for all. To a man possessed with these qualities it is hardly necessary to add that his hospitalities have made many persons happier and better, that his domestic relations have been and are of the best order, and that he is a devoted and affectionate husband and father. He has given much time and study to subjects outside of his profession, and often lectures to delighted audiences. His historical and biographical paper of Mississippi, from 1801 to 1890, has won for him the applause of thousands. He is a gifted orator; his language is choice, rich and full of thought, his sentences well rounded, and delivered in a clear, culti- vated voice. There are few men of to-day so well versed in the history of Mississippi, or so well qualified to discuss it as he. He has witnessed the erection of her capitol at Jackson, attended every convention held there, and has heard every speech of importance that has been delivered within its walls. He has also been a member of almost every democratic convention held there, and could have had, unquestionably, any political position within the gift of the people of his state, had he sought it. The dying advice of his distinguished father was never to aspire to or hold any political office, and this advice he has faithfully kept. It is in the legal forum that Judge Wharton is at his best, for his learning is pro- found and complete, and is greatly enhanced by a natural gift or an intuitive perception of law. He rarely, if ever, becomes entangled in any case, however intricate, but takes up the most difficult problems of law, and with his clear analysis goes to the bottom of them. The vast resources of his mind are always at his command, and in the discussion of a canse he is never at a loss for ideas or words to give force to his arguments or authorities to sustain them. He is possessed of a rich and varied elocution, and in his arguments is ever respect- ful to the court and courteous to his opponents. While he dignified the ermine of justice LLL

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it was thought that no just cause could fail. His integrity, ability, learning and calm equipoise of head and heart were assurances that the cause before him would be tried and adjusted upon its own merits. As a judge he combines some of the best elements that have been united in that office. Among these may be mentioned his deep learning, his knowledge of the fundamental principles of law, his calm, dispassionate mind, his ceaseless endeavor to get at the truth, and his fervent zeal for justice, as the end and intended fruit of all law.

William B. Wheatley is a substantial resident of Washington county, Miss., but is especially well and favorably known in the vicinity of Arcola, in which place he keeps a well patronized hotel. He was born in Wheeling, Va., in 1837, being the second of four children born to Warren Wheatley, a native of Westmoreland county, Penn., which was once a part of the Old Dominion. He later resided in Illinois and Missouri, and died of cholera in St. Louis in 1849. The maiden name of his wife was Johanna Cool, a daughter of George Cool, a Pennsylvanian, and a millwright by trade; he was in the War of 1812, under Gen. Anthony Wayne. The paternal grandfather, George Wheatley, also a soldier in 1812, was born in Virginia, was also a millwright, and was called from life in the city of St. Louis, Mo., in 1845. His wife was a Miss Leggett, of Va., of which state, his father, William Wheatley, was also a native shipcarpenter, a millwright by trade, and was one of four brothers who settled at Red Stone, now Mckeesport, Penn., who built the first model keelboats there, and started the first shipyard. They were Revolutionary soldiers. They came west of the Alleghany moun- tains after the war and bought land with their land warrants issued by the state of Virginia to her soldiers. They built and ran flatboats and keelboats to New Orleans, when Louisiana belonged to Spain, our subject's great grandfather dying on a trip to New Orleans on one of his boats, and being buried at or near Ellis cliffs, near Natchez, Miss. Their names are as follows: Isaac, Thomas, John and George. George Wheatley, the grandfather of William B., was one of a large family of children: George, Samuel, John, William, Elijah, Nancy, Sarah, Mary and Margaret, being the only ones remembered. The sisters of William B. Wheatley are as follows: Sophia, the wife of Thomas Griffith, resides in Monroe county, Ohio; Sarah, is the wife of Mckinley Blayney, of Washington, Penn., and Elsie R. Amos, who died in 1880, leaving four children. William B. was reared in Pennsylvania and St. Louis, Mo., and was educated at West Alexandria, Penn. In the winter of 1853 he began life for himself as a cabin boy on board a vessel called the Allegheny Clipper. He remained on the river for about twelve years steamboating, and in 1861 opened a hotel at Cape Girardeau, Mo. At a later period he engaged in the produce business in Memphis, from which place he moved to Vicks- burg, and in 1866 he took up his residence at Greenville, where he conducted a hotel until 1881, since which time he has been a resident of Arcola, the most of his time being given to merchandising. He was married in 1863 to Miss Emma Holt, a native of Missouri, and a daughter of Thomas Holt, of Virginia, a successful architect. To Mr. Wheatley and his wife three children have been born: Colin, who died in 1864; Belle Lee, who died in 1868, and William W., who now resides at home, and is the agent at the Grand Pacific depot. Mr. Wheatley has always been a democrat in politics, and socially belongs to the Masonic order. He and his wife are worthy members of the Baptist church, and in the different localities in which they have resided have won many friends. Mr. Wheatley has been quite a traveler, especially in the central and western states, and as he was of a rather restless disposition he did not settle down permanently until 1865. He has journeyed up the Mississippi river above Minneapolis, Minn., the Missouri river from its mouth to the head of navigation, the Ohio from Cairo to Pittsburgh, the Red river from its mouth to the northern part of the Indian

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territory, the Ouachita river as far as Camden, Ark., the Arkansas river to Fort Smith, and the White river to Batesville. He was also on the Gulf of Mexico for six months, on the Morgan line of steamers, from New Orleans to Galveston, Tex. His anecdotes of his travels and adventures are very interesting, and are made doubly so, for Mr. Wheatly is a fine con- versationalist, and relates a story well. He has seen many sides of human life, but his .experience has not hardened his heart or made him forgetful of the wants of his fellowmen. In personal appearance he is decidedly prepossessing. He weighs one hundred and seventy- five pounds, is five feet seven inches in hight, has brown hair, and dark gray eyes full of intelligence and kindly humor. As a host he is careful of the wants and wishes of his guests, and at all times endeavors to make their stay with him comfortable and pleasant, and that he does so is testified by the many who patronize his house. He owns his home and several business houses in the town, and in all is worth about $5,500.

George W. Wheeless. The history of every community is made up, so far as its more interesting features are concerned, of the events and transactions of the lives of its leading representative citizens. In any worthy history of Claiborne county, Miss., an outline of the career of Mr. Wheeless should not fail to be given. He was born in this county on Septem- ber 18, 1846, his youthful days being employed in obtaining an education which is a decidedly practical and useful one. His parents, G. B. and Elizabeth (Davis) Wheeless, were horu in Georgia February 10, 1804, and Claiborne county, Miss., in 1826, respectively, their union taking place in the mother's native county in 1843. Mr. Wheeless followed the noble and independent calling of an agriculturist, and by his upright, manly and consistent life, did much for the elevation of that calling. Although not an active or bitter politician he favored democratic principles, and always supported the representatives of that party with his vote and influence, which was considerable. He invariably tried to do as he would be . done by, and although he expressed his mind freely when occasion so demanded, he was not in the least disputatious, but was careful of the feelings of others. His life was daily illustrated with deeds of kindness, and it may be truly said of him that he never violated a friendship or willfully wronged one of his fellowmen. He lived to an advanced age, dying July 3, 1889, and his remains now rest in the cemetery in Port Gibson. The homestead is still the abiding place of his widow, a kindly, Christian lady. The family that in time blessed their union are as follows: Henry S., a promising young business man of Port Gibson, died dur- ing the yellow-fever scourge of 1878; George W., the immediate subject of this biography, comes next in order of birth; Martha, is the wife of S. P. Patterson, a successful planter of the county; Mary died of yellow fever in 1878; Sallie is the wife of Sanford Bloomquist, who is head engineer and superintendent of the oilmills at Port Gibson; G. B. is a planter of the county and is unmarried; Joseph D. is also a resident of this county; Samuel died in 1876, at the age of fourteen years; Charles F. is unmarried and is the proprietor of the Wheeless hotel, a popular hostelry in southwest. Mississippi; Lizzie is the wife of P. L. Shaifer, a planter of Claiborne county, and John A., the youngest of the family, makes his home in this county also, but is at present attending Mississippi college in Hinds county; Frank is deceased. In the family cemetery is erected a beautiful monument sacred to the memory of the dearly loved father, brothers and sister. George W. Wheeless, being the eldest living member of his father's family, remained with and cared for his parents until he attained his twenty-fifth year, then began making his own way in the world, and to his own well-balanced, active intelligence and unswerving perseverance he owes his present prosperity. His first work was as an agriculturist, but after some years given to this work he determined to engage in more congenial employment, and accordingly opened a mercantile establish-

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ment, a calling to which he devoted his attention with undeviating attention for a period of two years. He has been one of the pushing business men of the place up to the present date, and his sterling honesty and superior capability have long been well and justly noted. In his daily walk and conversation his kindness of heart and liberality are manifested, in both of which he is eminently deserving of mention as above the average of mankind. He was married on May 23, 1888, to Miss Irene Watkins, their union being solemnized at the home of Mrs. Wheeless' parents in Jefferson county, the ceremony being performed by Rev. J. P. Hemby of the Baptist church of Fayette, Miss. Mrs. Wheeless was born in Jefferson county, being the eldest of three daughters born to her parents; Leota, wife of Fred L. Schoeber, a bookkeeper of Adjer, Ala., and Laura, aged eighteen. Their parents, B. F. and Anna (Le Gette) Watkins, were born in Mississippi in 1842, and South Carolina, respectively. Mr. Watkins is a planter, owning four hundred acres of land, and is a finely educated gentleman, being a thorough scholar in Latin and Greek, having obtained his education in Oakland college. His father was a Georgian and his mother came of old Virginia stock. J. N. Le Gette, Mrs. Wheeless' grandfather, was a native of France and she inherits much of her beauty, intelligence and vivacious manners from her Huguenot ancestors. She was educated at home by private tutors and was also for some time a student at Port Gibson Female college, where she acquired an education which has admirably fitted her for the enviable social position she is filling. She is noted for her grace and beauty, and the nobil- ity of her character and the kindly and generous impulses of her heart and mind are reflected in her face, which is of almost perfect contour and expression. Mr. and Mrs. Wheeless occupy a high social position, and in their beautiful home make an agreeable and gracious host and hostess. Mr. Wheeless is a warm democrat, and socially is a member of Franklin lodge No. 5, of the I. O. O. F.

John Whitaker (deceased) was a native of North Carolina, born in the town of Enfield, December 13, 1798, and was one of a large family of sons and daughters born to Eli B. Whitaker. The latter was the son of John Whitaker, who was born in Warwick county, Va., and who was the son of Richard Whitaker, who came from England to America about the time Cromwell was beheading a number of the leading citizens of England. Richard Whita- ker, on coming to this country, settled in Warwick county, Va., bringing his wife and two of his cousins with him. In Warwick county they reared large families, many descend- ants of whom afterward settled in Tennessee. Richard had a small family, lived to be quite old, and died before the Revolutionary war. His son, John, when a young man, left the paternal roof, going to North Carolina, where he entered land in the vicinity of Enfield. He was the first settler in that district. He entered very large tracts of land in that vicinity, where he reared his family. One of his sons, Eli B., father of the subject, was brigadier- general of the militia of North Carolina, and served in the Revolutionary war in that capacity. His wife was a sister of Gov. John Branch, of North Carolina, who was one of its most prominent politicians and citizens. To Eli B. and wife were born nine sons and six daughters, all of whom but one lived to be grown. Several moved to Alabama, others to Florida, and still others to Louisiana, and the father to Mississippi in 1818. Only two of this family are now living: Lizzie and Martha, who live in Oswichee, Ala. Eli, the youngest son, was in the Confederate army during the war, and was captured in the battle of Gettysburg and died in some Northern prison. The others followed planting and were leading and representative citizens in the counties where they settled. The father of these children died at an advanced age in Tallahassee, Fla., and was a very earnest worker in the Methodist church. John, the subject of this sketch, attended the college of Chapel

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Hill, N. C., and in 1818 came overland to Mississippi, bringing about forty slaves with him. One of the negroes, Phil Branch, is still living on the home place. He claims to have been born in 1796, and is a smart old fellow, and used to be the carriage driver of the family. Mr. Whitaker, when he first arrived, camped where Mrs. Lewis now lives in Woodville, but from there he soon went to Louisiana, settling near Laurel Hill, where he purchased a plantation and remained until 1838. He then came to the present place, where he remained the rest of his life, devoted to his family and home. He was a stanch Whig, and a man of broad views and noble principles and was well posted in the public affairs of his day. He was a liberal contributor to all charitable institutions, and was an active worker and supporter of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. He was a class- leader and steward in the church, and died in 1857, a just and good man and a good neigh- bor, loved by all. He was an ardent follower of the chase, and while out so carried the respect of his associates that even the most profane would not swear in his presence. He was married to Mrs. Rodgers (nee Verbenia Stewart), a descendant of one of the oldest resi- dent families in the state. By this union was born one child, Nolans. Mr. Whitaker's next wife was a Miss Caroline Saunders (the daughter of Augustus Saunders, who was auditor of public accounts at Jackson, Miss., at his death), who was educated at Sharon, Miss., and at Nashville, Tenn., a graduate of both institutions. She had a superior intellect and a finished education, was highly cultivated and refined, and died in 1881, having been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and a devoted Christian. By this union were born seven chil- dren: one, Elizabeth, died in infancy; Anna Augusta, another, is now the wife of Dr. W. D. Wall, of Jackson, La .; James W., was reared on the home place and was educated in Edin- burgh, Scotland, where he remained for three years. Returning home he was married to Sallie Robert, sister of Dr. Robert, of Centerville, Miss. By this union were born nine children: James, Robert, Joseph, Anna, Rebecca, Sally, Esther, William S. and Eloise (who is deceased). James entered the Confederate army at the age of fifteen years, and served until the close of the war; he now resides on his farm, and is engaged in planting; Martha R. (now deceased) was the wife of Dr. J. C. Robert, of Centerville; Eli B. is traveling and prospecting in the mining districts of the West; James owns the old homestead and married Miss Lizzie Fanver, and is engaged in planting; Richard is a merchant and planter at Whit- aker Station, on the New Orleans & Texas railroad, in Wilkinson county. He was born in 1854 and educated at Trenton, Ark. In 1872 he began for himself at planting on the home place, and was married in 1877 and located on this place, where he remained one year, then moved to Louisiana, where he engaged in planting and merchandising in East Feliciana par- ish. He located at the present place in 1881 and engaged in planting and merchandising, and in 1888 at Whitaker Station, of which place he is the founder. He is also engaged in sawmilling, ginning, etc., and has about two thousand five hundred acres of land well under cultivation. He was married to Antoinette Mitchell, of Amite county, where she was born and reared, the daughter of Antoine and Henrietta J. (Dunn) Mitchell, natives of Louisiana and Mississippi, respectively. They were early settlers of Amite county. Her grandfather, Henry Dunn, was one of the very early settlers of that region, and entered the land upon which Clinton is now built, and was very prominent in social and public matters. Mrs. Whitaker was educated in Clinton, her home and birthplace. To Mr. and Mrs. Richard Whitaker were born three sons and four daughters: Antoinette, Antoine M., Anna H., Mar- tha R. and Mary (twins), John, and a baby boy, born January 20, 1891. Mr. Whitaker is a member of the K. of H. and K. of P., and is a Democrat in politics. He devotes his time and attention to his plantation, and is one of the largest planters of this portion of the county.

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John J. White was unanimously elected president for the third time of the Yellow Pine Lumber association, which held its meeting at Montgomery, Ala., March 6, 1891, was born in Anderson county, S. C., April 1, 1830, a son of William Moore White. The organization which insists that he stand at its head, has for its range on membership sawmill men in the states of Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi, and represents an aggregate capital of immense proportions -- that which is operating an industry now conceded to be one of the most important of what is popularly termed "the great South." Mr. White is also vice pres- ident, for the state of Mississippi, of the Southern Lumber Manufacturers' association, which embraces the principal manufacturers of lumber in the states of Missouri, Arkansas, Louisi- ana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. His father, William Moore White, was born in Ireland in September, 1803, and came to America at the age of eighteen years. Locating in Charleston, S. C., he engaged in carpentering for a time, having first served an apprentice- ship at that trade in that city. He afterward went to the northern portion of the state and indentified himself with the milling business, later associating himself with his brother in the manufacture of cotton fabrics and a general line of cotton goods. There he met and married, about 1828, Miss Elizabeth J. McMurtray, of Scotch descent and a native of South Carolina. In 1838, having lost his factory by fire, Mr. White moved with his family to Mississippi, locating in Madison county and engaged in the manufacture of lumber. His inill, which was operated by water power, was a primitive affair, but his business for those days was an exten- sive industry. There he sawed the most of the lumber used in the construction of the first houses erected at Canton, Miss. He afterward turned his attention to farming, in which he was engaged until his retirement from business. He now lives near Camden, within a few miles of his original settlement in the state, and although at the advanced age of eighty- eight years, is quite active for one of his years. Mrs. White died in Madison county at the age of forty-three, in 1847. Mr. White afterward married, and his second wife is now liv- ing. To Mr. White and Elizabeth J. McMurtray White, were born four sons and three daughters, of whom the first born is the subject of this sketch, John J. White, who was about eight years of age when his father moved from South Carolina to Mississippi. His educa- tional advantages were good, however, and he received a thorough training in the public schools of his neighborhood. He passed his boyhood days upon the plantation, growing to maturity in Madison county, and remained with his parents until after he attained his majority. A particular incident of his boyhood is the following: The school which he attend- ed was quite large and of a high grade for the time and locality. Young White took great interest in his studies and with characteristic energy directed all his efforts toward a mastery of the highest branches, and was soon so far advanced as to be chosen his teacher's assistant, and afterward there being a vacancy, caused by the death of the former teacher, he was placed in charge of the school which he had previously attended and continued for several years as its teacher. His push and determination to make a place for himself in the world were such that he could not think of remaining for an indefinite time in such employ- ment; and in partnership with his brother, Robert E. White, he soon branched out in the saw- mill business near Summit, Pike county, Miss., where he had removed in 1859. The war came on two years later and cut him off, temporarily, from the hope of the fruition of the ambi- tious desires which were, no doubt, cherished in the heart of the young man. During the dark days of "61" when the question of secession was paramount in the minds of the people of the South, Mr. White was an earnest and consistent Union man and opposed secession in all its forms, but when his state decided to withdraw from the mother government, he felt his first allegiance due to her and he at once became her earnest supporter.

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Robert E. White, his brother, enlisted in 1861 in the MeNair rifles, which were mustered into the Confederate service and attached to the Thirty-eighth Mississippi regiment. He was stricken with brain fever at Murfreesboro and died in a tent on the field before he could be removed to the hospital. The withdrawal of his brother from the business caused its entire responsibility to fall upon the shoulders of John J. White, who conducted it success- fully for some time, and supplied a considerable amount of timber used in the construction of Confederate gunboats, but in 1862 he laid aside his peaceful pursuits and enlisted in the Wilson guards, and was mustered into service as a member of company H, of the Thirty- ninth Mississippi regiment. He was soon commissioned lieutenant of his company, and par- ticipated in the fights at Corinth and elsewhere. With his regiment he was at the siege of Port Hudson after the taking of Vicksburg, and fell a captive into the hands of the enemy and was carried to Johnson's island, near Sandusky, Ohio, where he was confined as a prisoner of war until the close of hostilities. Undaunted and unflinching, he shouldered his musket and fought gallantly for the Confederate flag, taking part bravely in some of the hottest bat- tles. Mid whistling bullets and flying missiles of death, blinding smoke and horrifying scenes, he endured to the end, having risen from the ranks to the proud position of a com- missioned officer. Returning to his home in Pike county, he began with redoubled energy to re-establish his ruined business and re-engaged vigorously in the manufacture of lumber. He began making money, and has been remarkably successful up to the present time, though he has had several very destructive fires, by which he has sustained losses amounting to nearly $100,000. In 1881 he was completely burned out, but rallied again, and at that time supplied himself with a new outfit throughout, consisting of improved modern machinery, dry kilns, etc. His sawmill is of the steam-feed kind, and has a capacity of fifty thousand feet per day, and his planingmill has a capacity of thirty thousand feet, and he uses four Sturtevant dry kilns. He has fourteen miles of railroad equipped with iron and steel rails, and two loco- motive engines. His present plant is located on the main line of the Illinois Central rail- road, one mile south of Macomb City, Miss. He owns about fifty thousand acres of timber land in Pike and Marion counties, and has a kind of little city under his feet, as it were, everything being under his control, which is called Whitestown, in contradistinction to Macomb City. He employs nearly two hundred operators, the inhabitants of his place num- bering between five and six hundred persons. Mr. White has taken an active interest in educa- tional matters, and at his little place near McComb City he has two public schools, one for white and one for colored children, which are maintained by him principally. He has also erected a large Union church building, in which Christians of all denominations are priv- ileged to hold meetings. Mr. White's residence sets well back in the distance, perhaps half a mile, but not so far off but that he can hear the whistles of his own locomotives of his own road, and at the same time listen to the hum and buzz of the sawmill, or to the continuous sound emanating from the planingmill (all of these, no doubt, being music in the ears of the average sawmill man), and watch the even flow of his business, as each employe goes forth attending strictly to his own duties. Thus the mind grasps the entire scene: bustling busi- ness, without which the wheels of progress can not be made to turn, and by which a liveli- hood is earned; schools and education-that which is so necessary to the upbuilding and refinement as well as success of any community of people; churches and religion-that which is indispensable in cultivating that high moral sentiment necessary to insure future safety and happiness. In 1870 Mr. White married Miss Helen E. Tyre, who has borne him seven children. Mr. White is one of those quiet, unassuming men who accomplish magnificent results without ostentation or effort. Public-spirited and generous to the last degree, he is

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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 161

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