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 163

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 163

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BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL

county, near De Kalh. His father removed from Kemper county to Smith county, where he died in March, 1865. He served as a soldier in the Confederate army during the war. He was a prominent Mason and was a member of the grand lodge of Mississippi. He was an active, selfeducated and selfmade business man and prominent farmer, who was also inter- ested in other important enterprises. His wife, mother of our subject, was born in South Carolina, about 1830, a daughter of E. Flora, who moved to Kemper county probably about 1836. She was one of seven children, of whom Lawson N., is a planter of Kemper county; Richard A., also is a planter in the same county; Minnie T. is now Mrs. Coolidge, of Noxubee county; William H. is next in order of birth; James J. is a dentist in Gholson, Noxubee county; Winnie J. is living in the old home in Kemper county; John N. is a teacher of this county. Mrs. Whittle, mother of the above, is living in Scooba, Kemper county. She is a devout member of the Primitive Baptist church. Our subject passed his youth in Kemper county. He was educated at Cooper institute at Daleville, Lauderdale county, and gradu- ated in medicine at Baltimore, Md., in 1882, and entered upon the practice of his profession at Coffadeliah, Neosha county, where he remained two years, removing to Peden, Kemper county, where he practiced successfully until 1890, when he came to De Soto, where he con- tinned his medical practice in connection with the mercantile business, starting a general store in the year just mentioned. He is also half owner in a mill and turpentine distillery, the output of the last-mentioned establishment being about five hundred barrels per year. He was married November 16, 1886, to Miss Anna B. Wright, of Lake Burnside, Neshoba county, a daughter of Col. A. R. Wright and Mary L. (White) Wright, natives of Georgia, in which state Mrs. Whittle was born in 1864. They have two children, Clara H. and Mary L. The Doctor is a member of the State Medical association and is very prominent in the County Medical association. Politically, he sides with the democratic party. He is a men- ber of Chickasaw lodge, A. F. & A. M. Besides his other interests above mentioned, he has a fine farm in Clarke county and other interests in the town of De Soto. His partner in the milling business is Joseph McGee, and Lee Ethridge is his partner in the turpentine enter- prise. The Doctor is a young man of much public spirit and he has made his own way in the world with marked success, not only professionally but socially and commercially. He and his wife are both members of the Episcopal church and contribute largely to its various interests.

Whittington Brothers. Among the pioneer families to come to Amite county, Miss., and engage in planting were the Whittingtons, who were led by Moses Whittington, a Georgian, who took up his abode here in the early part of the present century. His son, William J. Whittington, was born in this state and county March 16, 1818, and was here united in the bonds of matrimony to Miss Permelia Evelyn Bolin, a native of this county, and a daughter of William Bolin, who was a Jefferson county Mississippian, born in 1793. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and was in the engagement at New Orleans with General Jackson. He removed from Jefferson to Amite county in an early day, became well known here, and here spent his declining years. After his marriage, William J. Whittington was engaged in planting near Liberty for a number of years, and there lost his wife, in Franklin county, May 4, 1887, after which he moved to Gloster, where he now resides. Notwithstanding the fact that he is now seventy-three years of age, he is in the enjoyment of fairly good health, his mental vigor being also unimpaired. To himself and wife a family of six sons and two daughters were born, all of whom are living at the present time. N. C. Whittington, his son, is a member of the firm of Whittington Brothers, and was born near Liberty September 8, 1841. He was given the advantages of the schools of this county, but finished his educa-

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tion in the New Orleans Commercial college. In the early history of the Civil war he responded to the call for troops, and was a member of the Seventh Mississippi infantry, Con- federate States army, and took part in a number of important engagements, among which may be mentioned Shiloh, where his clothing was riddled with bullets; Murfreesboro, where he was wounded in the leg by a gunshot; Chickamauga, where he was seriously wounded in the shoulder and hand and permanently disabled, and one or two other engagements of less importance. Soon after this he returned to his home, and was here married in 1869 to Miss Anna M. Robertson, a daughter of Joseph Robertson. Mrs. Whittington was born and reared in Jackson, Miss., and upon her marriage to Mr. Whittington removed with him to Natchez. The latter was engaged in merchandising at this point for about one year, then moved his goods and established a country store in Jefferson county, four years being spent here. At the end of this time his establishment was destroyed by fire, and he then turned his attention to farming, near Mount Zion, in Franklin county. Since 1885 he has been a resident of Gloster, and has been associated in the mercantile business with his brother, their house being one of the first to be established in the place. Mr. and Mrs. Whittington are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. J. Monroe Whittington, the other member of the firm, was born in Amite county, August 29, 1846. His youth was spent in obtaining an education and assisting on his father's plantation, where he learned lessons of industry, patience and economy, which have since stood him in good stead. He was first married in Jefferson county, in 1874, to Miss Ollie A. Fowler, a daughter of Col. Gabriel Fowler. His wife was born, reared and educated in Jefferson county, and was an intelligent, accomplished and amiable lady. She died August 23, 1878, leaving three children: Lucien N., Gortie M. and Anna C. Mr. Whittington married his present wife in Rodney in 1881, she being Mrs. Sallie Haley, a daughter of Dr. E. R. Manuels. Mrs. Whittington was brought up and educated in Fayette, Miss., and has borne her husband two children: Melenium Eloise and James Monroe. Mr. Whittington has followed merchandising since quite a young man, and from Fayette removed to Franklin county, locating near Meadville, where he sold goods and also carried on a farm, continuing for about nine years. In 1885 he moved to Gloster, and here has since been associated with his brother in the mercantile business. Their stock of goods is well chosen, is extensive, and as they dispose of the same at reasonable rates, are honest, and endeavor at all times to please their patrons, they now command a very large trade. They are public-spirited, enterprising gentlemen, and are very social, cordial and agreeable, qualities that are very essential for success in any calling. The latter named member of the firm erected one of the finest residences in the town, but sold out recently and purchased other property. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church. They have a brother, Rev. J. R. Whittington, who is a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a man of superior intelligence and education, and in addition to attending to the spiritual wants of his fel- lowmen, he has, in times past, looked after their physical welfare also, being a graduate and a practitioner of medicine. Another brother, Walter W., is a farmer of Franklin county; Alex- ander is a merchant of Roxie, Miss .; Thomas L. is a farmer of Jefferson county; Indiana is the wife of Alexander Thomas, of Franklin county, and M. E. is the wife of L. J. Imes, an agriculturist, of Jefferson county.

John Lawrence Wiggins, attorney, of Rosedale, Miss., was born in Ashley county, Ark .. in 1859, and was the third son born to the union of Samuel B. and Mary G. (Wade) Wig- gins, the father a native of South Carolina, and the mother of Tennessee. The father moved to Mississippi in 1836, followed farming and speculating, and later became a prominent planter and slaveowner in Louisiana. He subsequently moved to Arkansas and there fol-

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lowed the same occupation successfully. The town of Hamburg, Ark., was built up on his place, and his old residence, the Wiggins home, is historic in Hamburg at the present time. His death occurred in 1871. His wife had died in 1862. Both were church members, he of the Baptist and she of the Methodist persuasion. The paternal grandfather was a native of North Carolina, and the grandmother, whose maiden name was Ricks, was a native of the Palmetto state. The maternal grandfather was a native of Tennessee and of an old and prom- inent family. John Lawrence Wiggins is practically sell educated, having clerked and worked at other occupations to obtain the means to educate himself. He came to Mississippi in 1872 and first clerked for Nance Bros., of Bolivar, for a few months. He followed this business at other places for a number of years, and in 1879-80 attended the University of Oxford. After this he engaged as clerk and bookkeeper, and also carried on planting until 1886, when he entered the Louisville Law school. Finishing the study of law in 1887, he at once entered upon the practice of his profession at Rosedale. On the 1st day of January, 1891, he formed a partnership with W. B. Roberts. In the spring and sum- mer of that year the state witnessed a very warm political fight in the democratic party, the alliance of Bolivar county indorsing Mr. Roberts for the state senate on the sub-treasury platform in opposition to the views of his partner, Mr. Wiggins, who favored the renomina- tion of George and Walthall for the United States senate, in opposition to the sub-treasury and the alliance candidates, and in consequence thereof, Mr. Wiggins ran for the state legis- lature and was successfully nominated by the county democracy, the result of which was a defeat for Mr. Roberts and a final dissolution of their partnership in July. Mr. Wiggins enjoys a good practice and is keenly alive to the interests of his clients. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is also a member in good standing in the Knights of Pythias organization. He is alive to progress and improvement.

George M. Wilburn, Pickens, was born in Yazoo county, Miss., May 14, 1856, and is the third of a family of six children. His parents, William W. and Elizabeth (Crutcher) Wil- burn were natives of Virginia. The father emigrated from his birthplace to Yazoo county, Miss., in 1832, and was engaged in planting there until the time of his death in 1885. He was a son of James and Sallie (Wyche) Wilburn, also natives of Virginia. The mater- nal grandfather of George M. was Reuben Crutcher. Young Wilburn was reared in the state of his birth, and attended both the public and private schools. After leaving school he gave his energies to planting, and now owns six hundred and forty acres, three hundred being under cultivation. Later on he embarked in the mercantile trade, and carried a stock of $1,200. He has been very successful in his business, and has given generously of the means he has accumulated for the aid of public works and the needs of the less fortunate. Polit- ically he affiliates with the democratic party. He is a member of the board of supervisors of Yazoo county, having been elected in 1889. He has proved a very efficient and able mem- ber, and has given entire satisfaction to his constituency. Mr. Wilburn was married in 1878 to Miss Alice Pepper, a native of Mississippi and a daughter of A. G. and Amanda (Stuhle- field) Pepper. They have had three children born to them: William W., Carrie and Gwin Pep- per. They are worthy and consistent members of the Missionary Baptist church, in which they are zealons workers. The Wilburn family is of Irish and English origin, and is among the older settlers of Mississippi.

R. H. Wildberger, banker, Clarksdale, Miss., the efficient cashier of the Clarksdale Bank and Trust company and an energetic and reliable gentleman, was originally from Tennessee, his birth occurring in Memphis in 1852. His parents, John and Caroline (Cheek) Wildberger, were natives of Switzerland and Virginia respectively. The father came to the United States

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in 1830 and three years later made a permanent settlement at Memphis, where he was engaged in the clothing business, which he carried on until the outbreak of the war. He then enlisted in the Confederate army and served as lieutenant of an artillery regiment for two years, after which he was discharged on account of poor eyesight. He died in 1866. The mother is still living and makes her home in the Blue Grass state. R. H. Wildberger was reared to mature years in Memphis, educated at the Kentucky Military institute near Frankfort, and was for two years steamboat clerk on the Mississippi river. After this for eight years he was professor of natural sciences and commandant of cadets at the Kentucky Military institute. In 1882 he was engaged in planting near Memphis, continued this for two years and in 1884 moved to Clarksdale, where he became secretary of Sunflower Oil company for four years. In 1888 he was one of the organizers of the Clarksdale Bank and Trust company and was elected to his present responsible position as cashier. He is president of the Yazoo Delta Investment company, director of the Clarksdale Brick and Manufacturing company, and is also a director in the Clarksdale Compress company. He is a member of both the Masonic and Odd Fellow fraternities. He is notary public and insurance agent for fifteen companies, being the only agent in this part of the country. Insurance has of late years assumed such a degree of importance as to now constitute an important factor in commercial pursuits, and Mr. Wildberger adds efficiency in this line to his many other business accomplishments. He is a leading spirit in every enterprise looking to Clarksdale's future greatness. He is an unusually busy man and one of the shrewdest business men in Mississippi. He has been the life and spirit of every enterprise of Clarksdale aud is an officer or a stockholder in every corporation of the town. He is tall and dark and is gentlemanly and courteous in his manner.

One of the most efficient members of the board of supervisors of Adams county and its present president is Capt. Oliver N. Wilds, who comes of one of the oldest families of the state. He was born in Natchez on the 18th of August, 1839, the youngest of a family of four children born to Richard and Mary (Myers) Wilds, the former of whom was born near Manchester, England, and the latter in West Virginia. About 1834 the father came to the United States, and after a short time spent in New Jersey he came to Natchez, and here in 1836 he started a foundry, the first in the city. The works stood near the site of the old, or first, cottonpress under the hill, where he did a good business. He died in 1866. His wife died in 1839, soon after the birth of the subject of his sketch, after which Mr. Wilds married a Mrs. Gipser. Oliver N. Wilds was reared in Natchez, at which place he attended the public schools and the institute, the latter being under the management of Messrs. Gaines and Cornish, under whom he graduated. He learned the trade of a machinist and engi- neer, serving an apprenticeship of four years, after which he worked at the same for the same length of time. He finished his trade in Cincinnati, after which he studied draughting for some time, and was there at the opening of the war. He returned to Natchez early in 1861; for sixty days was a member of a company, after which he joined the Natchez Southrons under Capt. Richard Inge, and was at the battle of Shiloh, where he was badly wounded, and was afterward discharged from the service, being unable to enter the service again. In 1862 he was married to Miss Barbara Koerber, a native of Natchez, and a daughter of Lewis Koerber, an early pioneer of that city. After his return from the army Captain Wilds began planting in Adams county on a small scale, and although he only raised six bales of cotton the first year he rapidly extended his business until he became one of the most extensive planters in the county, his crop of cotton amounting to three thousand five hundred bales one year. He is now the owner of four plantations in Louisiana and one MMM

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in Adams county, of which one thousand nine hundred acres are under cultivation. In 1876 he bought his fine residence in the suburbs of Natchez, a beautiful place of some twenty- five acres in extent. The residence is beautifully situated and surrounded by majestic oaks, making it one of the loveliest places of the city. In 1876, in partnership with A. G. Ober, he purchased a number of fine plantations, and was very extensively engaged in farming until 1887, when he sold out to Mr. Ober. In 1876 he was elected a member of the board of. supervisors, and upon the death of Mr. Pollock was made its president, and has been the presiding officer of that body ever since. He has been instrumental in making many improve- ments in the way of roads and bridges in the county, as well as reducing the tax rate and advancing the county's credit. To Captain Wild's union ten children have been born: Lena Marcella, who died in infancy; Mary Virginia, the wife of Dan Reagan, now residing in Terre Haute, Ind .; Richard S. is now the manager of his father's plantation; Stella is an accomplished and popular young lady, and was educated in the convent near Mobile, Ala. (the Mississippi river steamer, Stella Wilds, was named in her honor); Oliver K. is attend- ing a college of Bay St. Louis; Aurella; Louisa, who died in infancy; Albert J .; Edna, who died in infancy, and Eva Hillary. Mrs. Wilds and all of her eldest children are members of the Catholic church. Mr. Wilds is one of the wideawake business men of Natchez and has always been an active citizen and an enthusiastic supporter of all things for the good of Adams county. He is popular and well liked wherever known, and in the bosom of his family is a model husband and father.

L. and N. Wilczinski, wholesale dealers in dry goods, groceries, etc., and cotton com- mission merchants at Greenville, carry a stock of goods valued at $100,000 and do an annual business of $500,000. This business was started in Greenville in 1868, under the firm title of L. Wilczinski & Co., general merchants, and their annual business was very large from the very start. Since then this has steadily increased, and the firm is now the largest in the Yazoo delta. They began exclusively in the wholesale business in 1887. Leopold Wilczinski, senior member of the above mentioned firm, was born in Germany and came to America when a boy. He resided for some time in Tennessee and Louisiana, where he mainly followed planting and merchandising, but in 1868 he came to Greenville and at once formed the present business. In 1885 the firm erected their storehouse, a large two-story brick, and in 1889 they erected the finest block in Greenville, at a cost of $50,000. This firm is the only one on the delta that own their cotton yard and fireproof cotton warehouse, the lat- ter having a capacity of ten thousand bales, and they also own several plantations, consist- ing of ten thousand acres with four hundred acres under cultivation. Leopold was married in 1876 to Miss Levenson, a native of the Blue Grass state, of a very prominent family, and three children have been born to this union: Joseph, Junius and Louis. Mr. Wilczinski is a member of the Masonic fraternity. In 1872 and 1876 he was mayor of Greenville, and started the first improvements ever instituted. During the time he was in office the first railroad (the Georgia Pacific) was commenced and Mr. Wilczinski did all in his power to promote that and to attract foreign capital to Greenville, besides taking a leading part in all other enterprises of a laudable nature. His partner and brother, Nathan Wilczinski, was married in 1880 or 1881 to Miss Levenson, of Kentucky, a sister of Leopold's wife, and the fruits of this union were two children: Fred and Hortense. There were five brothers of the Wilczinski family who came to Washington county, Miss., about the same time. One resides on a plan- tation in the country and the others are living in Greenville. When they first located in this town it was a hamlet of perhaps five hundred people, and no one has done more in various ways to advance and develop her resources than the members of this family. Their new

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building, Wilczinski block, is a most tasty edifice, and their large two-story office building, consisting of offices and storerooms, with its highly ornamental and artistic tower, adds much to the looks of the town. A few years ago they laid out part of Greenway plantation, which was one of the finest in the state, and which adjoins the town of Greenville, into five hun- dred city lots, and this they called Wilczinski's addition to the city of Greenville. A number of tasty residences have already been erected, and from present indications many more will undoubtedly soon be built. A line of street cars passes through this addition and terminates in a beautiful park on which there is a large, handsome grove, the only one in the county. Streets are being laid out and graded and it has been only a year or so since it was a pro- ductive cotton field; its prospects for building up and improving from now on are very great indeed.

Col. Drury D. Wilkins, planter and merchant, Duck Hill, Miss. The Wilkins family is of English descent, and among the earlier settlers of North Carolina was the Colonel's grand- father, who was an officer in the Revolutionary war. The Colonel's father, A. S. Wilkins, was born in the Old North state on the 18th of March, 1812, and was the youngest of a family of nine sons. He attained his growth in his native state, and was married in Lincoln county of the same to Miss Levina Warlick, who was born in the Palmetto state in 1814, and who was of German parentage. In 1838 Mr. Wilkins moved to Tennessee, settled in Ham- ilton county, near Chattanooga, where in connection with planting he followed the blacksmith trade, conducting a general wagon and repair shop. He left there during the war, but returned after peace was declared and continued his former business there until his death in May, 1889. His wife survived him only a few months and died in 1890. They were the parents of seven children-four sons and three daughters-all of whom lived to be men and women; one son, W. W., was a soldier in the Confederate army and held a commission, dying in the service of his country in 1863. Another son, L. B. Wilkins, was also a soldier and held a commission; he was killed at Fort Donelson. The other two sons, Dave A. and Drury D., are in partnership in the mercantile business at Duck Hill. The latter, the youngest in order of birth of the above mentioned family, was born in Cleveland county, N. C., on the 18th of March, 1834. He secured a fair common-school education and remained with his father until nearly grown, when he engaged in railroading with Gray, Dent & Co., con- tractors. Mr. Wilkins was their manager of construction until 1860, working on the Illinois Central road, and the following year he enlisted in the Confederate army, Brand's battalion. He was under Colonel Dent the first year and in 1862 he was detailed to the quartermaster depart- ment, where he was engaged in the manufacture of salt for the army in the Tennessee Salt works until the close of the war. After returning from the war, Colonel Wilkins took his family to Tennessee in a wagon while his wife went the entire distance, two hundred miles, on horse- back. In the fall of 1865 Mr. Wilkins returned to the West and located in Montgomery county, Miss., where he has since been extensively engaged in planting. He is the owner of several plantations and is one of the largest landowners in the county, having about twelve thou- sand acres of land in Montgomery, Carroll and Grenada counties. In1867 Mr. Wilkins embarked in merchandising in connection with his planting interests, and he carried on a large mercantile establishment at Winona for a few years. He now has a large brick store at Duck Hill, and is doing a general mercantile business. He resides on one of his plantations, about four miles from Duck Hill, and devotes his time to the management of the same. He is an excellent business manager, has accumulated a large estate and is one of the wealthiest men in Mont- gomery county. He is well known and respected for his many excellent qualities as a busi- ness man, citizen and member of society. The Colonel was married in Montgomery county

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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 163

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