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 60

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 60

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MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI.

body he was the founder of the Industrial Reform bill, and on the 25th of January, 1886, made an able and eloquent speech in its defense, solving the industrial features of the race problem. This speech was delivered in the hall of the house of representatives, was a model of logic, eloquence and strength, and thoroughly exhausted every detail of the subject and wielded a widespread influence among the members. Mr. Magruder was considered one of the deepest thinkers of the county, and was the inventor of several agricultural implements, one being a cotton planter, which he had patented in 1887, and which has met with universal satisfaction wherever used throughout the South. He always interested himself in the political affairs of the state and was an earnest patron of education. At the time of his death, on the 8th of December, 1889, he was a member of the house of representatives. His death, which was mourned by all who knew him, was caused by an apoplectic stroke. He was married to Maria, daughter of Benjamin Hughes (see sketch of William Hughes), her birth occurring in this county in 1833, and her death on the 25th of April, 1871. She was educated in Port Gibson Female college, and throughout the greater portion of her life she was an active and earnest worker in the Presbyterian church. She and her husband con- tributed some of the brick which was made on his place, for the erection of the Presbyterian church of Port Gibson, of which Mrs. Magruder was an active member, and to which she was always a liberal contributor. She was a devoted mother, an earnest Christian and a faithful friend, beloved by all who knew her. She bore her husband thirteen children, eight of whom are living: Joseph, who married Miss Priscilla Daniell, resides on the old Windsor plantation. Robert H. was educated in the university of Oxford, and resides on the home place. Benjamin H. also attended at that institution for two years, after which he entered college at Danville, Ky., graduating in 1882. Since that time he has taught school four years, being in the Chamberlain & Hunt academy for two years, at Okolona, Miss., one year, and one year at Pecos, Tex. He is now bookkeeper and assistant cashier in the Port Gibson bank. Lizzie is the wife of George Disharoon. She was educated in the female college of Port Gibson, and she and her husband reside on the home place with his parents. Thomas was educated in the schools of Port Gibson, and is now filling a trusted position with the Delta Bank, Loan & Trust company of Vicksburg; Mary and Nannie were given the advantages of the Port Gibson schools and the schools of Holly Springs, Miss .; James also attended the schools of Port Gibson, and Henry, who died at the age of twenty-three years, attended school at Port Gibson and the military institute of Kentucky, being a bright and promising young man. The brother of Hon. William T. Magruder, Joseph Magruder, attained his majority in this county, and was married to a Miss McCray, by whom he had one daughter, Mrs. W. B. Lean, now of New Orleans. Joseph was captain of a company in the Confederate army, and while making a charge at Canton in 1863, was killed. Mr. William T. Magruder reared his family to honorable manhood and womanhood, and they are now classed among the leading citizens of Claiborne county.

M. Mahorner is a planter and stockdealer at Macon, Miss., but is a native of Baltimore, Md., where he was born in September, 1837, to M. and Sarah A. Mahorner, the former of whom was born in Virginia and the latter in Baltimore. The father was a captain on the high seas until 1839, at which time, having married in Baltimore, he immigrated to Mississippi, and engaged in planting in Noxubee county. He was very successful, became wealthy, and his broad acres were carefully tilled and cultivated by his numerous slaves. In 1869 he moved back to Maryland, and there died in 1872, his wife dying at the same place two years earlier. They reared a large family of children only two of whom survive: M. Mahorner, of Macon, Miss., and R. Mahorner who is in the comptroller's office at Austin, Tex. Five sons were

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in the Confederate army during the war, and Bernard and Harris, who were wounded in the battle of Gettysburg, died from the effects of the same. Lewis was captured at Fort Morgan and died in prison at Elmira, N. Y. Matthias and Rienzi both went through the service. Mathias Mahorner, the subject of this sketch, resided in Baltimore from the time he was sixteen until he was twenty-two years of age, during which he served an apprenticeship in the machine shop of Poole & Hunt, and was after- ward employed in a commission house. In 1860 he came to Mobile, Ala., where he was employed as bookkeeper until the war broke out, but upon the opening of the war in 1861, he dropped his pen and enlisted in the Third Alabama regiment. In 1863 he was transferred to the First Maryland cavalry, in which he served until the close of the war, taking part in many cavalry engagements. Since the close of the war he has been a planter of Noxubee county, Miss., and in addition to this calling he has given considerable attention to the raising of fine stock, his herds of Jersey cattle and Southdown sheep being especially fine. He also raises an excellent grade of horses and hogs, and keeps a fine lot of fancy poultry. He is the owner of three thousand acres of fine land nine miles southeast of Macon, of which about one thousand one hundred acres are under cultivation, and eight hundred acres devoted to pasturage. All kinds of native grasses grow in abundance on this tract and Bermuda, Lespedeza, red clover and Johnson grass are also grown for the benefit of his stock. The greater part of Mr. Mahorner's attention is given to stockraising, at which he has been. remarkably successful. He was married in 1871 to Miss Mary A. Teague, of Sumter county, Ala., by whom he has one son, Mathias, Jr., who is attending college at Spring Hill, Ala., near Mobile. Mr. Mahorner is a member the Farmers' Alliance, is a wideawake and enterprising gentleman, and is well fitted for the calling in which he is engaged.

Maj. Lewis C. Majet, planter, Grenada, is a native of the Old North state, born in 1836, and is the second of four children-two sons and two daughters-born to the union of Nicholas and Sarah (Walters) Majet, natives also of North Carolina, born in 1787 and 1801 respectively. The parents made their home in their native state until 1836, and then removed to Yalobusha county, Miss. (now Grenada county), and settled ten miles east of Gren- ada, where they improved a good farm of about eight hundred acres. They were among the pioneers, and there they passed the remainder of their days, the father dying in 1859 and the mother in 1872. He was an old line whig, was very active in politics and all matters of public interest. He was a great hunter, horse-racer and general sportsman, but after remov- ing to Mississippi, abandoned all those amusements but hunting, and became a prosperous planter and a representative citizen. His father was a descendant of one of the old French Huguenot families of North Carolina. The maternal grandfather, Lewis Walters, died in North Carolina. He was at one time sheriff of Northampton county. His father was of English descent and was a soldier in the Revolution. Maj. Lewis C. Majet is the only one living of the four children born to his parents. They were named as follows: Cuthbert, who served in the Confederate army and was wounded at Port Hudson. He has never been heard from since Christmas, 1865, when he stopped at a house in Mississippi, enroute from his home in Arkansas to Mobile, Ala. It is supposed he was murdered for his money; Eliza- beth was the wife of Capt. N. B. Ingram (deceased), and died of yellow fever in 1878; and Caroline was the wife of Dr. S. C. Glover, and died about 1880. Major Majet received the rudiments of an education at home and later attended Grenada and Oxford and finished his education in the military institute at Frankfort, Ky., just before the war broke out. He then joined company E, Fifteenth Mississippi infantry as a private, but was afterward made ser- geant-major, and with the exception of about six months on detached service in an artillery, he

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served in that command until the close of war, fighting at Fishing Creek, Vicksburg, Port Hudson, Baton Rouge and was in the Georgia and Atlanta campaigns. He was then sent back to Corinth, Miss., and served for some time in the commissary department. He was then sent back to join General Johnston, whom he reached just prior to the surrender. Returning to Mississippi, he followed farming, and in 1867 was married to Miss Louise Ingram, who was born in the house in which she is now residing in Grenada county, and who is the daughter of Capt. N. B. and Margaret Ingram. Captain Ingram was married twice, his first wife being the mother of Mrs. Majet. He and first wife were born in Sonth Carolina, but came to what is now Grenada county about 1837, and settled a number of miles east of Grenada, where he improved a good farm. He subsequently removed to Grenada and followed merchandising until his death in 1874. To Mr. and Mrs. Majet have been born eight children, two sons and three daughters now living. When first married Mr. Majet lived about twelve years in Le Flore county, then in the neighborhood where his boyhood days were spent and recently in Grenada. He is one of the leading planters of the county, owning about three thousand acres with twenty-five hundred acres in the bottoms of Le Flore county, mostly the result of his own efforts but partly the result of inheritance. He is sparing no pains to educate his children and make his home pleasant.

Dr. Thomas J. Malone's residence in Mississippi dates from the year 1835, when he moved from Madison county, Tenn., and settled within the present limits of Marshall county, eight miles south of what is now Holly Springs. He was born in Sussex county, Va., December 31, 1806, and was the son of Thomas and Rebecca (Green) Malone, natives, also, of that county and state. The father was a prosperous planter, removed to Alabama in 1825, and there continued his former calling until his death, in about 1837. He was a lead- ing Methodist in Virginia, and his home was the gathering place of all the early preachers. The Malone family is of Irish-English extraction. Dr. Thomas J. Malone received his edu- cation in the common schools of Virginia, where he remained until, in his eighteenth year, he removed with his parents to Alabama. He was engaged in teaching school for about three years, and in 1833 was married to Miss Julia Owen, a native, also, of the Old Dominion. The following year he and wife settled in Madison county, Tenn., remained there one year, and in 1835, as above stated, came to Mississippi, settling in Marshall county. He located among the Indians, purchased four hundred and eighty acres in 1836, and remained in that place two years. He then purchased his present plantation, sixteen hun- dred acres, south of the present site of Waterford, and has cleared most of this tract. He became at once active in politics, and in 1845 was elected by the democratic party to the state legislature. He was re-elected in 1849, but declined renomination in 1852. For ten years after that he followed planting, and greatly improved and beautified his place. Mrs. Malone died in 1853, and the Doctor was married the second time, in about 1857, to Mrs. Lucy Alderson, widow of Maj. James Alderson, and soon moved to Holly Springs, where he has since resided. He had the misfortune to lose his second wife in 1887. Both ladies were members of the Methodist church. Dr. Malone has been a member of the same church since boyhood, a worker and officer for years, and a liberal supporter of the same. He is also a strong supporter and liberal contributor to all educational matters, and has been a trustee of Rust university since its establishment. He was a director in the bank for years. The Doctor studied medicine for individual benefit, has never practiced, but is universally called Doctor. He accumulated a large fortune prior to the war by planting and speculating in land, and this was mainly swept away during the struggle. He was a plain and pronounced Union man before secession, treated his negroes well and was thought much of by them. He

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has many old servants around him now, to some of whom he has given property. Although he lost much during the war, he soon recovered his fallen fortune after cessation of hostili- ties, and for years has been a donator and contributor to all worthy or laudable enterprises. He has given much to his relatives, and often gives a tract of land or bonds to an old servant. He is one of the oldest persons in the county, has resided here since its earliest white settle- ment, and is loved and respected by every one. Although a leading and prominent politician when elected to the legislature, he was no officeseeker, being naturally modest and retiring, and his entrance into the office was accidental. He is a fluent speaker, a shrewd reasoner, and a man of keen perception and intelligence. Although of a yielding temperament, yet he is firmly rooted to practical demonstrated facts. He is now studying Methodist history, is active for his age, and transacts all his business. He owns property adjoining town, and also about five thousand acres throughout the county. His social relations have been of the pleasantest, and he was never sued but once. He bought railroad bonds before the war, and after that eventful period was for a long time the only bond man in the county. He is strictly honest and upright, and has been known for years as an advocate and promoter of Marshall county's interests.

S. H. Mangum, a native of Mississippi, born in 1837, is a well-known planter of this section, and his plantation which comprises one thousand and forty acres, with about two hun- dred acres admirably tilled, yields a fine crop of corn and cotton annually. His ideas in regard to agriculture are shrewd, practical and progressive, and a secret, no doubt, of his success is that his work is very congenial to his tastes. He takes great pride in keeping his plantation in admirable order, and everything about the place indicates his care and attention. He has erected a fine sawmill on his place, and the attention which he devotes to this industry and time he bestows on his plantation and in the raising and care of his stock, keeps him fully occupied. He is every respect a trustworthy gentleman, and the respect which is bestowed upon him by all who know him speaks volumes in his praise, He has taken much interest in the politics of the county and has been a member of the A. F. & A. M. since 1856, at which time he became a member of Cato lodge No. 230. He was also a charter member of the grange, which he joined in 1875. On the 15th of December, 1867, he was married to Miss Minnie J. Martin, who was born in Mississippi in 1844, and their nnion has resulted in the birth of the following children: W. P., Nancy C., J. S., R. L., Emma and Augusta, all of whom are living. During the war he was a member of company D, Forty-sixth Mis- sissippi infantry and served throughout the entire war. His parents, Solomon and Zilla (Chapman) Mangum, were born in Georgia and Kentucky respectively, the former's birth occurring in 1787. Their union was consummated in 1818 and resulted in the birth of nine children: G. W., Nancy C., Caroline, Eliza, William, Mary, Alfred, W. P. and S. H., of whom four are deceased. Solomon Mangum came to Mississippi in 1812 and located in Rankin county, where he died December 29, 1852, his widow surviving him until February 21, 1879, when she, too, passed away.

Theophilus J. Manley, chancery clerk of Tallahatchie county, was born in the old town of Belmont, Fayette county, Tenn., in 1854. His parents were Capt. T. J. and Mary R. Manley, cousins, the former a native of Virginia, the latter of Fayette county, Tenn., born about 1822 and 1829 respectively. They were married in Fayette county, Tenn., and removed from there to Pine Bluff, Ark., and during the war to Tunica county, Miss., and thence to Cold Water, where they remained until 1865 when they removed to Charleston, removing thence four years later to a plantation, where the father was engaged in farming until 1871, when his death occurred. Captain Manley was a planter during most of his life.

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He organized, drilled and was made captain of a company for the United States service in the Mexican war, which, however, was never formally accepted by the government. He was a prominent Royal Arch Mason and took the highest degree in the I. O. O. F., his connection with the last mentioned order extending through many years. He has long been a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church, is highly honorable, strictly moral and temperate, and is everywhere recognized as a high-minded man. The mother of our subject is living at Charleston. She had four children: Clarence W., architect and builder of Charles- ton; Ida A., wife of W. B. Marshall, a lawyer of Charleston; T. J. and Mary, who died when two years old. Theophilus J. Manley received a limited common-school education, and in 1871 started out in life for himself as an employe in a printing office at Charles- ton, and after five years' experience purchased the Tallahatchie News, a paper upon which he had been working, and which he published about one year. At the end of this time he sold out and engaged in clerking in a store in 1879, when he bought the Charleston News, which he published till 1884, when he again relinquished newspaper work and was connected with a mercantile establishment till his election in 1887 to the office he now holds. He has been clerk and treasurer of the board of aldermen in his town for eight years. He is a prominent member of the I. O. O. F., and a charter member of the Charleston lodge No. 108, of which he has twice been noble grand. He is a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, earnestly and actively interested in Sunday-school work. Dur- ing his journalistic career he took a prominent part in the meetings of the Press association, which called him to various parts of the country, which, in connection with his prominence with the Odd Fellows and in church and Sunday-school work has given him a wide acquaint- ance in Mississippi, and made him very popular among the best classes of citizens.

Saunders J. Manor, Yazoo City, Miss., a thoroughly reliable planter of Yazoo county, was born in Rutherford county, Tenn., March 31, 1825, and is the eldest of a family of seven children. His parents, Levi and Levina (Jarrett) Manor, were natives of North Caro- lina and Virginia, respectively. The father removed to Mississippi in 1834, and was prom- inently identified with the early political history of the community in which he resided; he was a candidate for sheriff of Yazoo county at the time of his death which was in 1839. His widow lived until 1884. The paternal grandparents of our subject were Aaron and Rhoda Manor. The maternal grandparents were Thomas and Susan Jarrett, Virginians by birth. Saunders J. Manor grew to maturity in the county where he was born; he acquired a plain, practical education in the private schools of that day, fitting himself for all the duties which have fallen to his lot. He is a planter by occupation, owning one hundred and eighty acres of land; he has placed sixty acres under cultivation which yield a generous harvest. He was married in 1848 to Miss Margaret J. Swain, a native of South Carolina. They have had born to them a family of twelve children: William T. (deceased), Levi D., Elizabeth A. (deceased), Rhoda O., Evelyn H., Mary S., Margaret S., Drucilla, Roxanna L., Ada W., Sam R. and Giles M. Mr. Saunders is a member of the Farmers' Alliance, and in his political convictions sympathizes with the Democratic party. He has contributed liberally to all public enterprises which have had for their object the upbuilding of the community and the uplifting of the moral and religious element of society. He is a man plain of manner and speech, and a citizen who has the respect of the entire community.

Clifton H. Marshall, a planter of Monroe county, whose postoffice address is Nettleton, Lee county, Miss., was born in 1849, a son of William L. and Eliza P. Marshall. His father was born near Rome, Ga., in 1825, and came to Monroe county in 1844, locating on a farm near that on which he and his son Clifton now live. He was married in 1847 to Eliza Conni-

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way by whom he had five children: Clifton H., Leonora M. (deceased), Oscar P., Richard L. and Comander. Mr. Marshall is the son of Neighew Marshall, who was born in Georgia and came to Monroe county in 1845, was a planter for the remainder of his life. Richard Conniway, father of Mrs. William L. Marshall, was one of the first settlers west of the Tom- bigbee river, who began life by buying land of the Indians, later becoming a wealthly plan- ter and slaveholder. Although he received but a common-school education, Clifton H. Mar- shall is one of the most intelligent men of the county; a diligent reader of the newspapers, and well posted not only upon current events but upon historical subjects generally. In 1871 he married Fannie E. Johnson of Monroe county, and they had five children: Hattie, Daisy, Clarice L., William A. and Dellie V. In 1889 he was elected justice of the peace, and is yet serving efficiently in that office. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is an extensive and successful planter, genial and very popular.

In Madison county, Ala., January 1, 1812, Judge John P. Marshall first saw the light of day. His father, Thomas M. Marshall, was born in South Carolina, and there married Mary Malone, a daughter of William Malone, of South Carolina; his father, Col. James M. Marshall, was a native of the same state, and was a soldier in the war of the Revolution where he distinguished himself in gallant service to his country. The Marshalls are of English descent. Thomas M. Marshall was a planter in South Carolina, and removed to Alabama, settling near Huntsville, Madison county; there he lived until his death which was in 1844; his wife died in 1831; John P. is one of a family of seven sons and four daughters, and he and two brothers are the only surviving members; Hon. Benjamin T. is a planter in the county of Carroll, and Samuel G. also resides in Mississippi. John P. passed his youth in Madison county, Ala., and acquired the best education his limited circumstances afforded. At the age of twenty-one years he came to Mississippi and settled in Hinds county; two years later he went to Choctaw county, where he resided about one year. In 1835 he was married to Martha B. Long, a native of Mississippi, and a daughter of the Rev. Stephen Long, of the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1837 he removed to Carroll county and bought land on Palucia creek. This was in a wild, uncultivated state, but he had willing hands and a determination to succeed, and this is as good capital as a pioneer needs. He built a cabin, cleared some of the land, and made a comfortable home. In 1849 he removed to the place where he has since resided; here he had the same obstacles to overcome, but he cleared away the forest, and now has three hundred acres of as fine farming land as can be found in the county of Carroll. In his political opinions Mr. Marshall was formerly a whig, and was opposed to the late war. In 1839 he was elected ranger, and in 1842 he made the first assessment of lands ever made in this county, which is said to be a marvel of accuracy. In 1843 he was elected justice of the peace, and a greater part of the past twenty-six years he has held that office. In 1865 he was appointed probate judge by Judge Sharkey, and soon after he was appointed chancery clerk. He was next elected to that office, and continued to hold it for a period of eighteen years, winning the reputation of being the best clerk in the state. In 1852 Mrs. Marshall died leaving three sons and three daughters, only three of whom are living: Mrs. M. A. Wood, Mrs. T. H. Oury, and William B. Marshall, a planter of this county. The Judge was married a second time, December 23, 1852, to Mrs. Martha W. Baskett, a widow, a daughter of Russell Beall, member of a prominent family of Mississippi; she died December 7, 1883; there were no children of this marriage. Judge Marshall was married October 16, 1884, to Mrs. Florence Ory, a Virginian by birth. He has reared a number of orphan children, and now has two grandchildren with him. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He belongs to the Masonic lodge, being a member of

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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 60

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