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 82

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 82

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Theodore T. Obryant, planter, Chapeltown, Miss. Mr. Obryant's parents, Levi R. and Amanda M. (Boyle) Obryant, were natives of Alabama and Mississippi respectively, and the father became an extensive planter of the last named state, whither he had moved in 1855. He died in 1883 and his wife followed him to the grave in 1890. The paternal grandparents were Owen and Vashti (Richardson) Obryant, and the maternal were Thomas F. and Cynthia (Whitten) Boyle, the last two natives of Alabama. Theodore T. Obryant was born in Panola county, Miss., on the 3d of December, 1861, attained his growth in Mississippi and secured his education in the public schools, which he attended until twenty-one years of age. He then went to Louisville, Ky., and took a course in the Southern Business college, grad- uating from the same in 1882, in bookkeeping. He immediately afterward was employed as bookkeeper for Storn & Brown, at Batesville, Miss., and was with this firm one year. After this he embarked in business for himself and formed a copartnership with R. S. Smyth under the firm title of Smyth & Obryant, this continuing one year. After the death of his father, he was obliged to go on the farm, where he has since remained. He is the owner of four hundred acres of land, three hundred acres under cultivation, and is a prominent young man of the county. He was elected a member of the board of supervisors in 1887, was re-elected in 1889 and holds that position at the present time. He is possessed of more

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than ordinary ability, comes of a good family, and is popular with all. Miss Cora Whitten, who became his wife in 1884, was born in Mississippi, and is a daughter of John A. and Martha E. Whitten, natives respectively of Alabama and Mississippi. Mr. Obryant's mar- riage has resulted in the birth of two children: Ruth and Olive. Mr. and Mrs. Obryant are members of the Methodist church, and he affiliates with the democratic party in his political views.

Denton O'Dell, planter, Chulahoma, Miss., is a native of the Empire state, his birth occurring in July, 1836, and is one of six children, two sons and four daughters, born to Isaac D. and Eliza Ann (Hauptman) O'Dell, both natives of New York state, the father born in Rockland county and the mother in New York city. The parents removed to Virginia in 1842, remained there ten years and then moved back to New York state. Their children were named in the order of their births as follows: Mary E. (deceased August 11th, 1847); Denton (subject), Hamilton (deceased November, 1856); Martha M. (deceased May 10th, 1858); Josephine, wife of J. B. Hastings, of Stony Point, N. Y .; Henrietta (deceased July 3, 1891), wife of Samuel King, of Monroe, N. Y., and Emma Z. O'Dell. The father was a farmer and followed that occupation all his life. His death occurred in 1858; his wife and two children also died that year. Mary E., the eldest daughter, died while in James City county, Va., 1847. Denton O'Dell came to Panola county, Miss., October 10th, 1859, alone, and in 1860 located in Chulahoma, Marshall county, of that state, where he followed the trade of carriage-maker. At the breaking out of the war he enlisted in company I, Nineteenth Mis- sissippi infantry, under Col. Kit Mott, and was in the army of Virginia. He was in the battles of Evanstou, Yorktown, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, the seven days' fight before Rich- mond, and was wounded in the last named engagement, a minie-ball going through his left shoulder. This was a severe wound and he was taken to Chimborazo hospital at Richmond, Va., where he was attended by Dr. Shuford, of Holly Springs. He returned to his com- mand just before the second battle of Manassas and was placed in charge of the litter bear- ers through that engagement. He was at Frederick city, Md., Harper's Ferry and in the Antietam fight his right arm was broken by a shell, and he was compelled to walk from there to Winchester, a distance of about thirty miles, before having his wound dressed, and from there to Staunton, a distance of over ninety miles, on one day's rations. From there he was taken back to Chimborazo hospital again and remained there about two months, after which he returned to his command at Fairfax Courthouse. He served after that on detailed duty until the final surrender at Appomattox in April, 1865. Returning to Chula- homa, Miss., he resumed his old occupation of wagon and carriage-making, and was married in October, 1865, to Frances Bloodworth (deceased 1884), daughter of Elisha W. and Eliza- beth H. Bloodworth. The fruits of this union were twelve children-four sons and eight daughters: William Denton, in the employ of G. W. Fisher, of Memphis, Tenn .; Elisha Hamilton, Jesse D. and Charles; Elizabeth, wife of Robert Young; Martha M., wife of Robert L. Tucker, of Chulahoma; Stella, Henrietta, Josephine L., Ida (deceased), Kittie and an infant daughter (deceased). In 1876 he abandoned his trade of carriage-making and has since devoted his entire time to farming. He is now the owner of about seven hundred and forty acres of land, three hundred acres under cultivation, and also has a steam gin on his farm two miles south of Chulahoma. Mrs. O'Dell was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. He is still a member of that church and also a member of the Masonic fraternity. He was a member of the board of supervisors of Marshall county for six years in succession, from 1884 to 1889, and is one of the most esteemed and respected citizens of the county.

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MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI.

James B. Oden, De Kalb, the present circuit clerk of Kemper county, Miss., was born in the county August 22, 1857, and is a son of John H. and Mary A. (Thomas) Oden. His father was born in Edgefield district, S. C., in 1815, and was a member of one of the old families of that state. There he spent his early life, and removed thence to Wayne county, Miss .; in 1840 he settled in Kemper county, where he engaged in a general milling business and in agriculture. He was married in his native state, and reared a family of twelve children, six of whom are living: Capt. George W. ; Martha E., who is Mrs. Tinsley; Esther J., now Mrs. Saunders; Mary A., who is Mrs. Nall; Bell, who is Mrs. Ross; and James B., the sub- ject of this biography. William E. was killed in battle; Thomas H. died at Savannah, Ga. ; John died of yellow fever. The father died May 28, 1882. He was a Master Mason, a democrat in his politics, and a charter member of the Farmers' Grange. At an early day he was a member of the board of police. The mother of James B. was born in South Caro- lina, and was a daughter of Washington Thomas. She was an active member of the Method- ist Episcopal church. Her death occurred in 1862. Mr. Oden was married a second time to Mrs. Susan Blakely, who lived one year. He was married again to Mrs. Ellen Drake, and two children were born of the union: Ella C. and Eliza L. James B. Oden was educated at Cooper institute, Miss., and was trained to the occupation of planting. In 1886 he was married to Miss Florence Roberts, a daughter of A. and Mary R. (Brittain) Roberts. Her parents were natives of Mississippi, and were married in Kemper county; the father was a farmer and miller by occupation. Mr. and Mrs. Oden are the parents of two children, John Albert, and James T. Mrs. Oden was born in 1868, and is one of a family of nine children. Mr. Oden affiliates with the democratic party, and takes an active part in all the deliberations of that body. He is a Master Mason, and is at the head of the Farmers' Alliance in this county. He is a man of untiring zeal in behalf of the county and all home interests, and is a citizen who has aided largely in the development of the county.

Among the representative establishments of Jackson, Miss., may be mentioned the house .of E. T. Montgomery & Co., of which John H. Odeneal is the junior member. The busi- Dess was established in 1887, and the stock of goods which they now carry is valued at about $20,000. Mr. Odeneal was born at Columbus, Miss., in 1842, the fourth in a family of seven children born to E. P. and Rosanna (Dearing) Odeneal, who were natives of the Old North state, but removed to Mississippi about 1833 and settled in Lowndes county, E. P. becoming one of its wealthiest planters. He died in 1877, and his wife in 1876, both being mem- bers of the Presbyterian church at the time of their deaths. The paternal grandfather was born in the Emerald isle, but at an early day came to America and took up his abode in North Carolina. John H. Odeneal was reared in the town of his birth, and in his youth was given advantages of a very superior nature, being educated in Nashville, Tenn., and Prince- ton, N. J. Before graduating, however, he left Princeton college to enter the Confederate army, enlisting in a company of the Tenth Mississippi infantry, with which he served one year, after which he went to Virginia and joined a company of Stuart's cavalry. In 1863 he entered the engineers' department, became a lieutenant, and served as such until the close of the war. After his return home he farmed for two years, but in 1868 again began follow- ing this occupation on the Yazoo river. In 1870 he came to Jackson, and, in partnership with Thomas E. Helm, he started the State Capital bank of Jackson, in which business he successfully remained until 1880, when he sold his interest and engaged in stockraising, with a small herd of blooded Jersey cattle. He now has a herd of one hundred thorough- breds, and sells butter and milk in Jackson. He has one of the largest dairy farms in the South, comprising seven hundred and forty acres of land on the west side of Jackson, his

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milch cows amounting to over one hundred. He also has two other plantations in Hinds county, with six hundred and fifty acres under cultivation, and owns two thousand five hun- dred acres of timber land in Le Flore county, all of which will be extremely valuable in the future. In 1876 he erected a beautiful home in Jackson, and here he and his estimable wife have dispensed a generous hospitality. He was married in 1867 to Miss Annie Helm, a daughter of Thomas Helm, and to their union eight children have been born, all of whom are living. He and his wife are active members of the Presbyterian church, and are consid- ered acquisitions to the social circles in which they move. Mr. Odeneal is a shrewd and far- seeing financier and a merchant of unblemished reputation, which has been built up by a steady adherence, throughout his long business history, to correct commercial principles.

John J. O'Ferrall (deceased) was one of the esteemed early settlers of Natchez, Miss., and while a resident of this section became prominently connected with the mercantile inter- ests. He was born in Longford, Ireland, but in his youth came to the United States, and after a short residence in the city of New York he removed to St. Louis, in both of which places he devoted his time and attention to merchandising. About the year 1838 he took up his abode in the city of Natchez, and here, as time went on, became one of the wealthiest and most successful financiers of the place. He was a strictly honorable business man in every particular, devoted his time assiduously to his calling, was courteous and accommodat- ing in his treatment of his patrons, which was no doubt the secret of his success. Soon after his arrival here he purchased sixteen acres of land near the city, which soon became known as O'Ferrall's, and on this place he erected a substantial business house, besides a number of other large buildings, and here his name and fame became co·extensive with Adams county and the surrounding country. His financial career was illustrated with many acts of liberality and kindness, and with every vital interest of this section he was closely identified. He was married in the city of New York to Miss Eliza O'Ferrall, a native of Ireland, and to them a family of twelve children were born: Eliza, a resident of Kansas; Mary, wife of Dr. John Murphy, of Natchez; John J .; William; Peter, a planter of Louisi- ana; Fannie, and several that died in early childhood. Mr. O'Ferrall was called from life in 1872 at the age of sixty five years, having passed a well spent and useful life. In the space allotted in this volume it would be impossible to give a detailed account of his public and private career or to speak at length of his many sterling social and business qualities; suffice it to say that in every walk in life his career was above reproach. His wife died in 1882, having been a worthy Christian and a faithful wife and mother. John J. O'Ferrall, their son, was born in 1845, and in the city of Natchez, Miss., was reared and educated. During the late war, although he was not a Confederate soldier, he was taken a prisoner by the Federals during the early part of the war, and after some time spent in New Orleans he was sent to New York, and at the close of the war was exchanged from Elmira. After his return he clerked in Natchez for some time, and in the year 1870 first began taking charge of his present cottongin, which had been erected by his father in 1867. This gin is one of the best in this section of the country, and Mr. O'Ferrall gins more cotton than is turned out from any three gins in Adams county. The machinery is all of the latest improved, and is so thoroughly understood by Mr. O'Ferrall that two thousand bales are turned out annually. He is now in possession of his father's old place of sixteen acres, and on this property he has erected some twenty buildings, including his own handsome private residence. In Natchez (proper) he owns five dwellings at the corner of Pine and Jefferson streets, besides a magnificent plantation in the county, comprising one thousand one hundred acres, of which seven hundred acres are under cultivation. He also has two plantations in

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Louisiana, one comprising one thousand acres and the other three hundred and sixty- five acres, and of this fine and valuable land seven hundred acres are under cultiva- tion and are finely improved with excellent buildings, one of which is a stone one. Mr. O' Ferrall has led a very active life and has been very successful in his efforts to accumulate a competency, and by his own efforts has become one of the wealthiest residents of Adams county. He is president of the Natchez & Vidalia Steam Ferry company and in numerous other ways has shown himself to be an enterprising and pushing business man. He was married in Natchez in 1887, Miss Ella A. Tildsley becoming his wife, and to them two bright little children have been born: Lawrence Clapp and Thomas, Mrs. O' Ferrall is a daughter of Thomas Tildsley, who was one of the early settlers of Natchez and a contractor and builder by trade. The wedding of Mr. and Mrs. O'Ferrall was one of the largest ever celebrated in Natchez, and was held in the Catholic cathedral. The property of which Mr. O'Ferrall is the owner in Natchez has rapidly increased in value of late, for he has wisely improved it by erecting good buildings, and O' Ferrall's Corners is now a busy part of the town.

Gen. J. W. O' Ferrall, a prominent citizen of Enterprise, Clarke county, Miss., was born in Martinsburg, Berkeley county, Va., September 23, 1823. He was a son of John and Humric (House) O'Ferrall, the former a native of Virginia, who served in the War of 1812 and was for fifteen years a member of the legislature of that state. He was a prominent, public- spirited man, widely and favorably known. He was married in Maryland in 1821 and lived at Berkeley Springs, Morgan county, Va. He had a family of six children, namely: John, Ignatius, Peter, Lawrence, Richard and Eliza, all of whom grew to maturity. The mother died in 1830. The father remarried, and by his second wife had five children: Col. Charles T. O'Ferrall, who is prominent in Virginia politics; Virginia, Johnetta, Richard P., Laura. Mr. O'Ferrall died in 1856 in Virginia. In religion he was a Catholic. The early life of our subject was spent at Berkeley Springs. He received his education in his native state. He was married in 1851 to Miss Margaret Tolson of Newbern, Ala., a daughter of Fredric Tolson, a native of North Carolina, who has borne him four children, Merion, John, Thomas and Bessie, and who died in 1867, having lost her life on the coast while taking a voyage on board a vessel. Mr. O' Ferrall was married the second time to Miss Helen Gains Walton, daughter of Col. J. B. Walton, commander of the Washington artillery during the war. By this marriage he had two children, Edmond G. and Charles A. He and his wife are both members of the Episcopal church. Mr. O'Ferrall came to Enterprise in 1856 and estab- lished himself in the mercantile business in 1857, which he continued until the time of the war. During the war he was a brigadier-general. He has always been a prominent member of the democratic party and has served as a member of the city council. He is a member of the Masonic order. In connection with his other business he represents twelve insurance companies, some of which are among the most prominent in the country. He is an active, energetic business man, and takes a helpful interest in everything pertaining to the public benefit.

Richard O'Leary, M. D., was born in Georgia in 1828, the second in a family of eight children born to John Pearse and Catherine C. (Semmes) O'Leary, the father a native of Ireland and the mother of Georgia, the latter's ancestors being among the early settlers of Maryland and of French descent. Her father, Ignatius Semmes, was a successful practicing physician of Georgia. John Pearse O'Leary came from Ireland to the United States in his thirteenth year, and first made his home in Georgia. He had received a good education (for his years) in his native land, and after coming to this country he began the study of

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medicine in a school of Augusta, Ga., from which he graduated in his early manhood. In 1844 he came to Mississippi and settled in Madison county, where he became well known, and where he secured a large practice. He died in 1876, and his widow in 1888, both quite advanced in years, the former being an active practitioner until the day of his death. They were members of the Catholic church, and were worthy and useful members of society. Dr. Richard O'Leary, their son, was reared in Madison county, and was educated in Madison college and in Georgetown university. In 1858 he began the study of medicine, attending lectures at New York university, and graduated March 4, 1861. He then returned to his home in Mississippi and entered the Eighteenth Mississippi regiment as assistant surgeon, and was assigned to duty in the hospital at Richmond, where he remained during the war. In August, 1865, he settled at Vicksburg, where he has since been in the active practice of his profession, being accounted one of the highly successful medical practitioners of this section, and one of the leading ones of the state. He has heen a leading man of Vicksburg for many years; has taken great interest in the improvement of the city, and is now erecting a handsome brick block, four stories in hight, one hundred feet front, on Crawford and Walnut streets, opposite the new Federal building. This is one of the most desirable localities in Vicksburg, and the fine block being erected by Dr. O'Leary will be a great improvement to the city. The building is designed for stores on the ground floor, and for offices above, the cost of the structure reaching the sum of $35,000. From 1874 to 1878 Dr. O' Leary was mayor of the city, and made a very faithful, zealous and competent official. During the yellow fever epidemic of 1878 he was one of its victims, but aside from this his health has always been remarkably good. He was married in 1867, but his wife died in 1883, leaving, besides her husband, a family of two sons and four daughters to mourn her loss. The Doctor's second union was to Mrs. N. A. Hartigan, and this union has resulted in the birth of a daughter.

Capt. William Oliver, Wesson, Miss. The South contains no treasure so rich as the fair fame of its children. Time evolves wondrous changes. "Empires crumble and fade away, governments perish and men decay," but the glory of our national existence must still remain so long as the names of those who aided in enlarging the boundaries of knowledge, who gave tone and high impress to its morals, who conserved its laws, or fought its battles, are remembered with gratitude. The men who stamp the impressions of their genius or their virtues on their own times, influence also the lives of those who follow, and they become the benefactors of after ages and of remote nations. Of such men the record should be care- fully compiled, printed and preserved; and the South, above all other sections, owes it to its country and to the world to perpetuate such records, while it is yet possible to separate truth from fiction, in all that which pertains to the true character or relates to those who laid the foundation for a new and higher life-who have sustained it by their wisdom or adorned it by their talents. It should be constantly borne in mind that the South to day stands conspicuous among the countries of the world as a younger son grown to full and beautiful manhood from the ruins of a former bright and prosperous family; that it has passed successfully through an era of deep obscurity and wasted years of feeble infancy, and that it has stepped forth at maturity from the panoply of war like Minerva from the brain of Jove. Such is the character of the intrepid man whose memoir inspires these words.

Captain Oliver was endowed by nature with a powerful frame and vigorous intellect, undaunted courage, and a spirit of enterprise that peculiarly fitted him to encounter the perils and hardships of the time that tried men's souls. In a letter from Wesson to the Southwestern Presbyterian at the time of Captain Oliver's death, the Rev. T. S. West says:

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"Some years ago I was on a rostrum before a large audience, witnessing some exercises of more or less interest. Turning my head a little to the right I noticed a man of singularly striking appearance, sitting near the platform; he was very handsome, had an open counte- nance with very forcible expression. I thought him one of the most imposing looking per- sonages I had ever seen. He was about the age that men are the best looking, say fifty; his dark beard beginning to be threaded with gray. I said, mentally, 'I don't know who you are, nor what you are; but you stand above your fellows in whatever community you dwell, and you are a leader in your calling, whatever it may be.' He engaged my attention for some time; I turned and whispered to some one, 'Who is that? The answer was, 'Captain Oliver, of Wesson.' I did not meet him again, until eighteen months ago, when I was appointed pastor in charge of the Methodist church of this place. We gradually grew inti- mate, and in his death I feel that I have lost a friend." William Oliver was born in Twiggs county, Ga., February 24, 1829. His father, Wiley Oliver, moved to Barbour county, Ala., in 1833. At the early age of eighteen we find William already occupying a position of trust, commanding the highest salary commanded in that day. On the 12th of October, 1847, he was married to Mary Milner Callaway, being at that time just eighteen years and eight months old; although so young, he made an admirable choice. When a little more than nineteen he began business for himself, in Eufaula, Ala. In 1853 he moved to Minden, La., and opened a business there with Mr. Drake. In 1855 the firm established a joint house in Trenton, La. Here he remained until the dark din of war rolled over our Southland. He had marked success in his ten or twelve years of mercantile life. He entered the Confederate service in the Thirty-first Louisiana regiment, with the rank of captain, and was assigned to duty in the quartermaster department. In 1866 he went to New Orleans, engaged in the cotton business with John T. Hardie, and was again successful. In 1870 the Mississippi Manufacturing company, at Wesson, Miss., passed into the hands of John T. Hardie and William Oliver. Captain Oliver, of the firm, came to Wesson and took charge of the mills, without any knowledge whatever of the manufacturing business. In the reorganiza- tion the name was changed to Mississippi Mills, with John T. Hardie, president, and William Oliver, secretary and treasurer. The plant at this time was worth about $100,000; after three years of successful management the mills were consumed by fire. This misfortune dis- couraged most of the stockholders; but Captain Oliver's three years' experience led him to believe that the thing could be made a grand success under proper management. About this time John T. Hardie, the leading stockholder, proposed to buy or sell. Captain Oliver saw his opportunity, and had the adroitness to interest in this enterprise Col. Ed. Richard- son, the commercial king of Mississippi. So John T. Hardie and others were bought out; the company newly organized, the stock increased to $340,000, with Col. Ed. Richardson president, and Captain Oliver, the general manager, in the office of secretary and treasurer. In eighteen years, from 1873 to 1891, without any additional capital except profits reinvested, the factory grew to that magnificent plant at Wesson to-day, with $2,000,000, dispensing its blessings to thousands of the poor, and with comfortably increasing dividends to the stockholders, who are confined almost wholly to the Richardson and Oliver families. Since the death of Col. Ed. Richardson, his son, John P., has been president of the company; he married Mary Ella, second daughter of Captain Oliver. Rilla E., the eldest daughter, mar- ried Dr. R. W. Rea. His only son, John M. Oliver, is a successful young merchant at Wesson.

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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 82

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