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 67

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 67

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commodious diningroom. Mr. Miazza is an experienced hotel man, is anxious to please his patrons, spares no expense in keeping his table supplied with the delicacies of the season, and being a jovial and agreeable companion, his house is a popular resort, especially for the trav- eling public. Although young he is exceptionally intelligent, for he was early compelled to rely upon his own resources, and is self-educated. He possesses rare business qualifications, his hotel is rapidly growing in popularity, and a bright future is before him. He was mar- ried on the 31st of December, 1889, to Miss Emma Spengler, a daughter of H. Spengler, Sr., of Jackson, and to their union one child has been born, whom they have named Emma. Both Mr. Miazza and his wife are worthy members of the Catholic church.

Daniel A. Mickle, planter, Duck Hill, Miss., is another of the many prominent citizens of Montgomery county, Miss., who owes his nativity to the Palmetto state, his birth occurring in Barnwell district on the 17th of December, 1820. His father, John M. Mickle, was born in the same state and district in 1787, and his grandfather was a native of the Emerald isle, but an early settler of South Carolina and a soldier in the Revolution. John M. Mickle was married in Barnwell district to Miss Elizabeth Touchstone, daughter of Stephen Touch- stone, who was of German parentage. Mr. Mickle moved to Alabama about 1832, located on a farm and there reared his family. He was a soldier in the War of 1812 and held a lieutenant's commission. About 1850 he moved to Mississippi and spent his last days with his son, his death occurring in 1871. His widow died about 1874. Daniel A. Mickle, who was one of the children born to the above mentioned union, remained with his parents until eighteen years of age and in 1838 came to Carroll county, now forming a part of Montgomery county, and bought land near his present residence. He followed farming until 1864, when he enlisted in the Confederate army, and his regiment was located at Grenada for home pro- tection. Returning to his home after cessation of hostilities he remained there until 1870, when he moved to his present property, consisting of about seven hundred acres, with one hundred acres under cultivation. Mr. Mickle was married in this county in 1846 to Miss Jane Margaret Sally, daughter of Capt. John H. Sally, and a native of South Carolina, although reared in Mississippi. Mr. and Mrs. Mickle have no children of their own, but have reared a number of orphan children. Mrs. Mickle holds membership in the Missionary Baptist church. Mr. Mickle is one of the successful and substantial citizens of Montgomery county, and boasts of always having raised his own corn and fattened his own meat. He is a social, honorable gentleman, and is highly esteemed by his friends and neighbors.

Edward E. Middleton, a planter of Yazoo county, was born in Franklin county, Miss., in 1833, and is the elder of two sons of Martin and Lucretia (Epps) Middleton. His parents were born in South Carolina, where they grew up and were married. They removed to Mis- sissippi in the pioneer days of the state, and endured all the privations and trials incident to the settling of a comparatively new country. His mother came to Mississippi from South Caro- lina when she was only five years old, in 1819, and his father came in 1812, when he was seven years old. The father died in 1835, in Franklin county, Miss., but the mother still survives. Edward E. passed his boyhood and youth in Hinds county, Miss., and at the age of twenty- three years started out in the world to seek his fortune. He had been trained to agriculture, so he began planting for himself. He settled in Yazoo county in 1852, but at the end of two years he removed to Holmes county. In 1862 he entered the service, enlisting in company D, First Mississippi light artillery. He passed through the hardships of warfare, and was a brave and faithful soldier until the declaration of peace. In 1856 he was married to Miss N. C. Barksdale, a daughter of Joseph and Annie (Carter) Barksdale, who were among the early and influential settlers of Mississippi. Mr. and Mrs. Middleton are the parents of twelve

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children, ten of whom are living: Louisa M., wife of R. S. Evans; Edward and Joseph, farmers; Lily, William, Fannie, Eva, Annie, Rufus and Pearl. Mrs. Middleton is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Middleton belongs to the Masonic order in Benton, of which he has been W. M. four years. He gives his attention to planting, and owns three hundred and seventy-eight acres of good land; one hundred and fifty acres are under culti- vation, and yield abundant harvests. He has traveled frequently through the southern por- tion of Mississippi, and has been a witness to the wonderful changes which have been wrought by the hand of industry since the place was laid desolate by the ravages of war.

Rufus M. Middleton was born in Franklin county, Miss., January 9, 1835, and is the son of Martin C. and Lucretia (Epps) Middleton, natives of South Carolina. There were two children, and Rufus M. was but six weeks old when the father died. Two years after- ward the mother was married to the Rev. Preston Cooper, a member of the Methodist Epis- copal conference of Mississippi. The family removed to Hinds county, Miss., in the fall of 1837, and settled on a farm. About the year 1840 Mr. Cooper discovered the mineral wells known as Cooper's wells, which are considered of excellent quality. Mr. Middleton's two sons grew to maturity, and are still living; the mother also survives, and resides at Hazlehurst. Rufus M. Middleton grew to manhood in Hinds county, and spent his school days at Ray- mond. In 1853 he came to this county, and engaged in farming. In 1859 he purchased the plantation on which he has since lived; he cultivates half of the four hundred acres of which the farm consists at the present time; his first purchase was of two hundred and eighty acres of land which was little improved; this he had in a good state of cultivation at the breaking out of the Civil war, but at the close of the conflict there was little left to tell of what had been; the improvements were all swept away, and the livestock and crops were stolen. In 1862 he entered the Confederate service as a member of company B, Wither's light artillery. He was at Port Hudson, Harrisburg and Blakely, and in numerous smaller engagements. At Port Hudson he was taken prisoner, was paroled, and again, at Blakely he was captured. When the war was ended he returned to his home, and set bravely to work to retrieve his broken fortune. Of late years he has given special attention to improving the breeds of farm stock of all kinds. Politically he affiliates with the democratic party, and is actively interested in all the movements of that body. He has served as magistrate, and is a member of the school commission. He belongs to P. B. Tutt lodge No. 17, A. F. & A. M., also to the W. D. Farris chapter, R. A. M., and to the Knights of Honor. He has been secretary of the Blue lodge for twenty years. Mr. Middleton was united in marriage in Yazoo county in 1855, to Johanna A. Mays, a daughter of John and Mary B. (Churchwell) Mays. Mrs. Middleton's parents were of English ancestry, and removed from Virginia to Mississippi. Mr. and Mrs. Middleton had born to them eight children: Mary L., wife of F. B. Thompson, of Madison county; Laura H., wife of James P. Rose, of Benton; Henry P., who married Miss Birdie Carmouche; Rufus M., Jr., of Madison county; John D., of Louisiana; Frank E., Maud G. and Allen F. Mr. Middleton has been a witness to the advance of Yazoo county since the war, and, as all true Southerners are, is an ardent admirer of the courage and will with which the men of the South applied themselves to the rebuild- ing of their shattered fortunes.

E. S. Middleton was born at Crosswicks, N. J., January 13, 1831, the eldest of three children born to Aaron and Martha S. S. (Cottongood) Middleton, the latter inheriting Dutch blood of her ancestors. The great-great-grandfather of E. S. Middleton came from England and settled in New Jersey, and nearly all the male members of the family down to the present day have been farmers and tanners. Aaron Middleton was a blacksmith by

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trade, but farmed the most of his life. He was a well-informed man, having received an academic education in his youth, was progressive and enterprising in his views and of kindly and charitable disposition. E. S. Middleton attended the old fieldschools up to the age of sixteen years, then went to the city of brotherly love, where he began learning the car- penter's trade, afterward working at the same for five years in Philadelphia, five months in Georgia, six months in St. Louis, after which he came to Mississippi, and settled in Hinds county, working on the insane asylum of Jackson in the fall of 1853. He afterward took charge of a sawmill for A. G. Grant for about six months, and after quitting his employ began contracting as a carpenter, which calling he continued to follow until the breaking out of the war. He then joined the Confederate army, but only remained in the service for a short time, his services being principally required as a shipbuilder. He spent four months in Savannah, where he helped to repair and refit an ironclad which had been made in Scot- land to run the blockade. When the war closed he returned to Hinds county, Miss., where he has since been engaged in farming. He made considerable money prior to the opening of the war, but lost it all, and had, like many others, to commence the battle of life anew after hostilities had ceased. In payment of a debt he took some cotton, which he sold for $8,000. He now owns two thousand acres of land, about seven hundred and fifty of which are under cultivation, and on which he raises two hundred and twenty-five bales of cotton and oue thousand five hundred bushels of corn annually. He has a fine steam cottongin and grist- mill, the former of which turns out about six hundred bales each year. He keeps constantly. on hand about eighty head of cattle, which he fattens for beef, and ships some occasionally to New Orleans. He also raises quite a large number of cattle each year. In 1881 he was elected a member of the board of supervisors of Hinds county, and during the four years that he served he filled the position of president of the board two years. During this time a large portion of the county debt was paid off. The board was very economical and made a new issue of bonds to cover a debt of $100,000, all of which bonds the president of the board was compelled to sign. He also served in the capacity of magistrate during Alcorn's administration as governor. He was married in 1862 to Miss Mary Baskins, of Madison county, Miss., and by her has three sons and two daughters: E. S., Jr., who attended the high school of Philadelphia, Penn., for four years, and afterward graduated from the law department of the University of Mississippi, standing very high in his class; Elwood Kirby, who attended Clinton college three years; Caleb S., who spent two years in the Agricultural and Mechanical college and studied medicine in Philadelphia, Penn .; Jesse Stewart and Anna, both of whom are graduates of Hamilton college, of Lexington, Ky. Mr. Middleton is and has every reason to be proud of his family, for they all promise to become upright, useful and intelligent citizens. Mr. Middleton is of a kindly and charitable disposition and is liberal in the use of his means in aiding the poor and needy and in encouraging worthy enterprises.

Dr. J. D. Miles is a prominent and skillful dentist of Vicksburg, but was born in Natchez, March 15, 1829, being the third child born to David and Eleanor (Brownjohn) Miles, the former of whom was born in Wales. He came to the United States and settled in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1816, and there followed his calling, that of a civil engineer, and laid out many of the streets of that city, at the same time being engaged in street contracting. He died in 1830. The mother was born in London, England, a daughter of John Brownjohn, and in 1816 came with her people to the United States, settling in Natchez, where her father and mother died. After the death of her husband Mrs. Miles married a Dr. R. Chambers and removed to Illinois, where she resided until 1850, when they returned and settled in

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Vicksburg. Dr. R. Chambers was a popular and successful dentist and followed his profes- sion in Vicksburg until his demise. The mother died in March, 1886, at the age of seventy- nine years, having been an earnest member of the Episcopal church. To her union with Dr. Chambers six children were born, only Mrs. J. F. Baum being now alive, her home being in Vicksburg. Dr. J. D. Miles resided in Illinois until he was sixteen years of age. and there received the principal part of his education. He began the practice of dentistry in 1851 in Natchez. The following year he was married to Miss Hattie Paine, a daughter of Thomas Paine, an old settler of Natchez, and in 1855 came to Vicksburg, where he has been in the constant practice of his profession ever since. He has devoted the greater part of his life to his profession and is a skilled operator, his patronage being large and lucrative. In 1875 he with six other dentists organized the Mississippi State Dental association in his office in Vicksburg, was its first president and has since been its president on two different occasions. He has for five years served as a member of the Mississippi state board of dental examiners, and has in numerous other ways shown a deep interest in his profession. To Dr. Miles and his wife six children have been born: John Joseph, a broker at Seattle, Wash .; Mary M., wife of George A. Myer of Washington, D. C .; Charlotte, who died in infancy; Benjamin C., who is in the transfer business at Vicksburg; Freddie Baum, who died of yellow fever in 1878, and Eliza J., wife of S. Q. Kline of Vicksburg. The family are members of the Epis- copal church and move in the highest social circles of Vicksburg.

Rev. E. D. Miller, principal of the State normal school at Holly Springs, and an edu- cator of prominence, is a native of the Buckeye state, his birth occurring in 1827, and was the eighth in order of birth, and a twin, of ten children born to Godlove and Susanna (Sims) Miller, both natives of Virginia. The parents were married in the Old Dominion, but moved to Ohio in 1818, and there the father followed mechanical pursuits and farming until his death in 1837. The mother died in 1877. She was a member of the Baptist church. The paternal grandfather was a native of Germany, and came to America in colonial times, set- tling in Virginia, where he reared four children. He was a Baptist minister, and was well known as a ripe scholar and a great linguist, few individuals at that time being his equal in scholarship. The maternal grandfather, George Sims, was a native Virginian and of English descent. He was also a Baptist preacher, and left a large family. Rev. E. D. Miller received a thorough theological education at Georgetown, Ky., and graduated there in 1854. He sub- sequently went South, settling in Decatur, Ala. After one year he went to Elizabethtown, Ky., was in charge of a church there for one year, and then, in 1857, came to Mississippi, set- tling in Marshall county. He lived on a plantation, and in connection with his ministerial duties carried on farming there for some time. In 1870 he came to Holly Springs, and four years later became actively connected with educational matters. In 1878 he was appointed county superintendent of schools, and served in that capacity with credit to himself and satis- faction to the people for twelve years. During that time he made many changes in the schools of the county, advocated and employed the best systems of instruction, and thus elevated the tone and credit of the schools. In 1884 he was appointed one of the trustees of the State normal school, and in 1889 was appointed superintendent of that institution. He is a student of psychology, as it relates to the child and its power of learning, also the theory and practice of teaching, and is also studying history and theology. He has a good, useful library and a pleasant home. He was married first, in 1857, to Miss Margaret E. Ford, a native of Virginia, who died in 1878. The second union occurred in 1881, Mrs. Mary V. Mayer, nee Mallory, a native of Alabama, becoming his wife.

Judge Hugh R. Miller was born in South Carolina in 1815, He came to Pontotoc,

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Miss., about 1840, and immediately made his influence felt at the bar of his county. By his genius and close application to the duties of his profession he climbed to the top- most round of the ladder in his legal practice of this section. Way back in the forties he was elected to represent his county in the legislature. He was elected circuit judge, and was noted for the fairness of his decision. Refusing reelection, he resumed the practice of his profession, in which he continued until the opening of hostilities between the North and South. He organized a company in Pontotoc and went directly to Virginia, participating in the battle of Manassas junction, where he distinguished himself so largely that, at the solicitation of his commanding officers, he returned home and raised the Forty-third regi- ment of Mississippi volunteers, which he commanded with great credit until his brilliant military career was cut short by his death at the battle of Vicksburg.

Rev. Irvin Miller, merchant, Walnut Grove, Miss., was born in the Blue Grass state, Marion county, near Lebanon, on the 11th of November, 1836, and is of Scotch descent, his paternal grandfather being a native of that country. His father, James Irvin Miller, was born in Pennsylvania, and there grew to manhood. He went from there to Kentucky, and was married in that state to Miss Adaline Evans, daughter of Edward Evans, a native of the Old Dominion and a pioneer settler of Kentucky, in which state Mrs. Miller was born and reared. Soon after his marriage Mr. Miller settled in Marion county, followed farming, and there reared his family. He was an active member of the Presbyterian church, and an elder in the same for a number of years. He died in 1846, and his wife followed him to the grave in 1879. Rev. Irvin Miller was educated in his native county at Lebanon Male seminary, under the supervision of Prof. W. T. Knott, and after completing his studies, or in 1855, he came to Mississippi, locating in Hillsboro, Scott county, where he engaged in clerking. He there practically learned the mercantile business. In 1859 he began merchandising at Damascus, and sold goods up to 1863, when in January of that year he enlisted, first, in the Fourth Mississippi cavalry, which was afterward reorganized and known as the Second Mississippi. Mr. Miller served until the close of the war, and participated in a number of important engagements. He was wounded at Spring Hill, Tenn., by concussion of shell and disabled from further active duty. After sufficiently recovering he served on detached and post duty until cessation of hostilities. Returning then to Damascus, Miss., he resumed merchan- dising, and continued this occupation successfully until 1868, when he removed to Walnut Grove, located where he now resides, and has been in active business since. He was the second man to locate and engage in business at this place; the surrounding country was a wilderness, and there were only a few farms scattered here and there. He erected a large store building, a good residence, and has been an active business man here since. In connection he has also been engaged in farming for a number of years, and is the owner of several farms in Leake county. Mr. Miller was married on the 4th of December, 1856, to Miss Melissa Brewer, daughter of Wiche Brewer, one of the early settlers of Scott county. Mrs. Miller was born in Alabama and reared in Scott county, Miss. The fruits of this union were six children, viz .: John E., married, and depot agent at Hatties- burg, Miss .; Ada M., widow of Prof. W. W. Graham, who was a native of Leake county, and a teacher in the Lone Star state (Mrs. Graham has one child, Miller, a boy of two years); Jennie, wife of Dr. W. A. Kelly, who is a physician of Walnut Grove; Gussie, wife of Luther Sparling, a farmer of Leake county; Irvin K., a lad of twelve, and Edith Love, nine years old. Mr. Miller joined the Methodist Episcopal Church South, in 1848, and was licensed to preach in 1865, and has been an active minister of the same ever since. He is a local preacher, and has regular appointments. He is an eloquent and gifted speaker

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on nearly all subjects, and has the faculty of holding the attention of his audience. He has never aspired to political honors, but was elected to represent Leake county in the last constitutional convention. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and of White Plains lodge No. 192, joining the same in 1859, and is master of his lodge. He is also a member of the Knights of Honor. He has served as postmaster at Walnut Grove for the past twenty-three years, and at Damascus eleven years prior to his removal to Walnut Grove. Mr. Miller is a typical Southern gentleman, hospitable and chivalrous, and no man stands higher in the estimation of the people than he.

Prof. John C. Miller, of Clay county, Miss., was a well-known and successful educator up to 1886, but since that time has devoted his attention to farming, milling and stockrais- ing. He was born in Spartanburg, S. C., in 1836, to Alexander and Sylvia (Whetstone) Miller, both of whom were born in the Palmetto state, the former's birth occurring in 1800. He was a farmer and mechanic, and about 1844 moved to Mississippi, and settled in that part of Chickasaw county that is now Clay county. He died at the home of his son John C. in 1875. To his marriage, which occurred in 1825, the following children were born: William H., a resident of Clay county; James M., who was killed in the battle of Chickamauga dur- ing the war; Nancy M., wife of William Linn, both deceased; John C .; Mary J., wife of S. McKenney, deceased, of Clay county; Thomas W., a resident of this county; and two children deceased. John C. Miller was educated in the state university of Mississippi at Oxford, and was graduated from that institution in 1858. He immediately began teaching in Long Branch academy near Palo Alto, and up to 1886 followed this calling, with the exception of the time that he was in the army, teaching nine years at one place. He also carried on planting in connection with these duties, but since the above mentioned date has given up pedagoguing. In April, 1861, he joined company A, Seventeenth Mississippi regiment, and served until after the first battle of Manassas, in which he participated. After this he was taken ill and honorably discharged. Upon recovering he again enlisted in the service, but this time became a member of company F, Ninth Mississippi cavalry, and before the close of the war took part in many engagements, and was appointed quartermaster sergeant. He was paroled at Gainesville, Ala., in 1865, and returned to his home in Mississippi. He has since filled the offices of justice of the peace, a member of the school board in Chickasaw county, and in 1872 was elected to the office of county supervisor, a position he filled with ability for two years in Chickasaw county. He has been very successful as a planter, and is now the owner of one thousand five hundred and twenty acres of land, and has five hundred acres in cultivation. There has never been a mortgage on any of his property, and he has always been abundantly able to live up to his obligations, and to meet all demands upon his purse. He is a member of the Methodist church, of Pikeville lodge No. 85, of the A. F. & A. M., at Buena Vista, the Golden Rule, the Farmers' Alliance and the Patrons of Husbandry (grange). In all these he held important and prominent positions. He was married in 1866 to Miss Jennie Brownlee, a daughter of A. M. and Florinda Brownlee, and to them a family of twelve children have been born: Cheves, wife of Dr. J. S. Evans; Dora L., deceased; Zalla, successful schoolteacher; Florinda, James M., Walter V. (deceased), John C., Jr., Evans, Goldie L., Una E., Albert P. and Percy De W., all of whom any parent might be proud.

John H. Miller, planter, Waterford, Miss. There are a number of men prominently identified with the agricultural affairs of Marshall county, but none among them is more deserving of mention than John H. Miller, who, in the management of his farm, displays excellent judgment and thoroughness, qualities which can not fail of success. He is a native

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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 67

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