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 90

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 90

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BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL

S. Featherstone, who was transferred to the department of Mississippi, after which it was commanded by Gen. Nat Harris, of Vicksburg, until the surrender. In February, 1865, Dr. Peel was transferred, by his own request, to the department of Mississippi. Returning home on a short furlough, to look after the interest of his younger brothers, he was married to Miss Alice Maud Matthews, a younger sister of his former wife, and repaired at once to his new field of duty at Lee hospital, near Lauderdale springs, in Mississippi, where heremained on duty until the surrender of the Southern army. Three of Dr. Peel's younger brothers fol- lowed his fortunes in the army of Virginia, two of whom were killed-Thomas in the seven lays' fight around Richmond, and Albert, the adjutantof the Nineteenth Mississippi regiment, was killed at Spottsylvania Courthouse, falling within three feet of the oak tree, twenty two inches in diameter, which was cut down with rifle balls at the "bloody angle," as it is called in history, where General Grant had massed seven lines of battle, to force his way through General Lee's lines at this place. The stump of this tree is now in the museum at Washing- ton city. Another brother, Addison Peel, was captured at Spottsylvania, and remained in prison at Fort Delaware until the surrender. Volney Peel, the youngest brother, then a mere boy, was wounded while with General Forrest's command at Franklin, Tenn., but recovered soon. He was married to Miss Holt, of Virginia parentage, who died several years ago, leaving to her husband's care a daughter and three sons, who now reside sixteen miles south of Holly Springs, upon a fine farm with five hundred acres under cultivation. Andrew Peel, the third brother, removed to Texas in 1858, in quest of a more salubrious climate. He located a large stock farm and owned a large land estate at his death, which occurred some years ago, leaving a wife and five children to inherit his wealth. Returning home when our banner had been furled o'er dead hopes and wasted lives, the three brothers met upon the spot they once called home, now a deserted, desolate spot. Fire, as well as the sword, had done its work, and naught remained to tell of the beauty and grandeur of old Hickory park, save its walls, which were built of brick, the first in Marshall county, and which stood defi- antly frowning at the midnight torch and marauding mob of an invading army. Near by, fanned by the evening zephyr, garlanded by trailing vines and lovely flowers, shaded by the willow's bending boughs, where the song-bird trilled a mournful requiem, slept the parents from whom they inherited a spirit which knew no defeat, and, gathering up the ashes whose fires had long burnt out, they went forth to battle with an untried future. The hand which had wielded the sword, handled the rifle and skillfully guided the amputating knife soon learned to hold the plow and guide the faithful mule, and with a fixed determination to rebuild their ruined fortunes. For years Dr. Peel has devoted his time to his profession and a large farming interest, and is now living in Holly Springs, with a large and lucrative prac- tice, and at the age of fifty-eight is as active, vigorous and usefully employed as in years gone by, when the impulse of life's dawning manhood quickened into action the energy which has crowned the nobility of his life with its own green laurels. Residing in the northern part of our town, in a grand old residence surrounded by majestic oaks, and a beautiful lawn terraced by lovely flowers, where his wife and accomplished daughter and only child, Mary G. Peel, preside, dispensing the hospitality which not only entertains, but invites all to its welcome shades, a benefactor and friend, lives Dr. Peel, a noble Christian gentleman whom all delight to honor.

George H. Peets, M. D., one of Wilkinson county's worthy planters and a leading physi- cian, is located near Buffalo river, fourteen miles northwest of Woodville. The Doctor is very well known and has a large circle of friends and an extensive practice, and by reason of his superior skill, long years of practice and excellent judgment receives and merits the con-

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fidence of the community. He is a native of Louisiana, and was born near Laurel Hill, on the West Feliciana railroad, and was the eldest of a family of three-one son and two daugh- ters, the latter two dying in infancy and named Mary Eliza and Maria L. They were the children of Lee Peter and Cassandra (Davis) Peets, natives of Louisiana and Tennessee respectively. The mother was born near Greeneville, Tenn., and was brought to Louisiana when a child by her parents. Samuel Davis, her father, was born in Richmond, Va., and came down the river to Fort Adams, and later, going to Louisiana, settled near Tunica, where he reared a large family. He was a leading member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and built a church in the same vicinity that still stands as a monument to his religious character and his honored memory. He was very active in church work, and at his death had accumu- lated a handsome competency for himself and family, valued at about $70,000. He was very industrious, a hard worker and an honest man. He is said to have shortened his days by unceasing activity and unflagging hard work, but his name of high integrity is the common heritage of the county and state. The mother of George H. was his eldest child, and was reared in Louisiana, where she married. Her brother, Richard Davis, is living in Holmes county, Miss. Mrs. Peets died in 1844, at the age of thirty-six years, an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which she was very active. Mr. Peets, the father, and his brother George W. were left orphans at a very early age. The father settled on the property where Baton Rouge is now located, and later, when deprived of his rights here, had in view the education of his younger brother George in the law for the purpose of fitting and posting themselves in securing their rights in that city. George read law in Minden, La., under Judge Murray, a famous lawyer of that district, and was admitted to the bar of Louisi- ana at the age of twenty-two years, and held the office of circuit judge for several years. He also served in the legislature, and was very popular in political circles. He died in the thirty- seventh year of his age, a single man. His whole object in life was to repay his brother for the pains taken in securing his education and in supporting him until his education was finished. He had attended Centenary college for several years, and was splendidly educated and possessed naturally the highest talents. He was of unusually good address, of a com- manding appearance-six feet one inch in hight, weighed one hundred and eighty pounds, had dark hair, light brown eyes, and was a fluent and finished debater. The father in early life began planting on a very small scale, but by energy and economy gradually gathered together enough to comfortably sustain and educate his family. He was an honored citizen, greatly loved and respected by all. He died in 1854, at the age of forty years. George H. Peets was reared in the first location in which his parents settled, attended the public schools and later the Mississippi college, at Clinton, a Baptist school. He then attended Shelby college, Kentucky, and finally went to Philadelphia, at the age of twenty years. He remained in that city and took up the study of medicine under Charles Pendleton Tutt, of Virginia, and graduated from the Medical college of Philadelphia in March, 1860. He returned to Mis- sissippi and commenced the practice of the profession. When the war broke out he entered company E, of the Twenty-first Mississippi regiment, as second lieutenant, and was promoted to assistant surgeon, and later to surgeon of the Twenty-first Mississippi regiment in the army of northern Virginia, and served thus until the surrender of Appomattox. He partici- pated in the following engagements under General Magruder: Dam No. 2, in Virginia; at Savage Station (after which he entered the medical corps); the second battle of Fredericks- burg, in which he took active part, and was in the trenches and fired nine shots. He was at that time assistant surgeon. After the war he returned to the home place, where he prac- ticed medicine for some years. He then married and commenced planting on his present

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place. He was married to Josephine Crow, daughter of Levi Crow, of Mississippi. Mrs. Peets was born and reared on the present place, where she died two years after her marriage, leaving no children. Mr. Peets was again married to the sister of his first wife, Eliza, who (lied, leaving six children, all of whom are yet living and all are at school: Richard Davis, Levi Crow, George H., Josephine (a very bright student of fifteen years, who took the full course of French at Whitworth college, Mississippi; she is now at McGehee college, at Wood- ville), Mary E. and Lee Percy. Richard and George are at the Centenary college, one in the junior and one in the sophomore class. Richard attended Vanderbilt university, Nashville, Tenn. Dr. Peets was married, the third time, to Anna Brown, a native of this county, the daughter of Thomas Brown, a Methodist Episcopal minister and school superintendent of this county, which latter office he has held for a number of years. He is a man of fine educa - tion and refinement. His wife, Mary Smith, was a native of New York, educated in Buffalo at Miss Willard's school. She was the niece of Fitz Smith, of New York city. Miss Anna Brown was very highly educated at home by her esteemed mother, taking a full classical course, and is a very highly accomplished and a most estimable lady. She was at the time of her marriage to Dr. Peets the principal of the McGehee college, and one of the ablest and most highly esteemed instructors. To this union were born three children: Anna Cupples, Kate Lee and Grandville Hunter. Dr. and Mrs. Peets are active members of the Methodist Episcopal church, as are four of their oldest children. Dr. Peets has held the office of church steward and Sunday-school superintendent. He is a member of the A. F. & A. M., of Woodville. He was elected to the state legislature in 1883, and is a member of the board of trustees of the Agricultural and Mechanical college and a trustee of Centenary and McGehee colleges, and is one of the county's most prominent and respected planters. He has nearly four thousand five hundred acres, with about one thousand acres under cultivation. He owns eight miles frontage on the Buffalo river.

W. C. Pegram, a well-known and prominent attorney at Vicksburg, Miss., a native of the city, son of Tilford and Margaret (McLemore) Pegram, is a graduate of the law department of the University of Louisville, Ky. In 1878 was a member of the lower house of the Missis- sippi legislature. As a criminal lawyer he ranks deservedly high, being regarded one of the best in the state. In 1890 he married Harriet Willis Barnes. On her mother's side she is descended from the Montgomerys. The Barnes and Montgomery families are among the earliest settlers of the state. A number of them have been quite prominent in the state's history.

The Pepper family, of which R. B. Pepper, Deasonville, Miss., is a member, is one of the largest and most influential in the county of Yazoo, and is worthy of mention in this record of the leading families of Mississippi. Zedekiah Pepper was born in South Carolina, January 13, 1800, and at the age of eighteen years removed to Tennessee, and thence to Law- rence county, Miss., where he married Sarah Bull. In 1835 he came to Yazoo county, where he was a large and prosperous planter before the war. He owned two thousand two hundred and fifty acres of land, the most of which was in a high state of cultivation. He died in 1886, at the age of eighty-six years. His wife died in 1882. They reared a family of twelve children, all of whom settled in Yazoo county. At the time of the father's death he had a direct succession of more than one hundred descendants: Elisha married Miss Rachel West and reared a family of five sons; Lovy married S. Z. Dixion, and to them were born twelve children; E. B. married Miss Elizabeth Kuhn, and they had two children; Zedekiah, Jr., married Miss Matilda Beall, and they had eight children born to them; William J. married Miss Cornelia Mathews, and they had one child, who died in 1859; S. J. lived to be about

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fifty years of age and was unmarried; Sarah married F. M. Beall, and died some years ago, they had two children; A. G. married Miss Amanda Stubblefield, and they had seven chil- dren; J. J. married Miss Rachel Penny, and they have eight children; J. H. married Miss Betty Penny, and to them were born ten children; Mary, the fourth child, died in infancy; R. B., the subject of this notice, was born in Yazoo county in 1839, and is the eleventh of the twelve children of Zedekiah and Sarah (Bull) Pepper. Mr. Pepper was married to Miss Agnes Handley, and eight children have been born to them. With six of his brothers, Mr. Pepper saw three years' service in the Civil war. He was with A. G. in the engagement at Port Hudson; J. H. was in the engagement at Vicksburg, and J. J. fought gallantly at Blakely. E., Z., Jr., and S. J. were on light duty. The two others were then deceased.

Col. W. A. Percy was born in Huntsville, Ala., though he lived in Washington county, Miss., from his boyhood to the time of his death. His father was a native of Adams county, in this state, where his grandfather, Captain Percy, of the British naval service, set- tled in the early days of the Natchez province. Graduating at Princeton college, Colonel Percy came home to the plantation owned by his brothers and himself on Deer creek. He resumed his studies in the law school of the University of Virginia, where he took so high place in his class that his teacher, Professor Minor, predicted for him the station in the front rank of his profession which he afterward achieved. He married Miss Armstrong, daughter of General Armstrong, a distinguished soldier of the regular army. Before begin- ning active practice the war came on, and though an uncompromising opponent of secession, he raised and led to the camps the first company that left his county. He subsequently, after having been elected colonel of his regiment, was transferred to the staff of General Bowen, on which he served during the siege of Vicksburg. He was next assigned to duty with Gen. A. S. Long, chief of artillery of the Second corps, army of northern Virginia. The war over, Colonel Percy returned to his plantation home, soon moving to Greenville, however, and engaging in the active practice of law. He at once received a large business, which continued to grow as long as he lived. Absorbed as he was in the management of his law business, the dire needs of the state at this, the reconstruction period, drew him much into political affairs. This divergence did not accord with his tastes, but was an imperative duty-as much so as the response to the call to arms in time of war. His home, the Yazoo delta, was the very core of the black belt, where the carpetbaggers flourished and grew fat- test. It was the central point in the succeeding struggle for the building up of stable white supremacy-at times threatening the peace of the state and the institution of home govern- ment. Through all of the years from 1870 to 1888 Colonel Percy was the acknowledged leader and guide of the delta counties in the trials and perplexing emergencies growing out of what is known as the race question. He was one of the famous committee of seven which in June, 1875, issued a call for the reorganization of the state democracy preliminary to the profound struggle which resulted in the overthrow of base and alien rule. He was elected to the legislature in that year and to that of two years later, by which he was chosen speaker. This was his only official experience, except as delegate from the state at large "to the national democratic convention of 1880, and from the district in 1884. During the period stated Colonel Percy was the champion and acknowledged authority of the levee inter- ests, the problem of overflow protection only a degree less important than that of home rule. These questions, the political redemption, the levee protection, and the full development of the Yazoo delta, embraced the duties on which his life work was centered. The following of Colonel Percy, the Gray Eagle of the Delta, as his friends and admirers were wont to call him, is taken from the history of Mississippi by Messrs. McCaudle and Lowry: "He

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possessed the highest of nature's gifts-personal magnetism-by which were drawn to him men of all classes, creeds and conditions. At the time of his untimely death he had taken such place in the minds of Mississippians that it was only a question of time when he would have been called to high official station. How great would have been his services upon a broader field of action there are no means of judging, for he was equal to every opportunity presented, to all obstacles encountered." This outline of his life may serve to awaken mem- ories of him in the thousands of those who knew and loved him, but it presents but a shade of what Colonel Percy was to the people of the Yazoo delta, among whom his lot was cast, or of that wonderful influence which he exerted, apparently unconsciously to himself, over all who came in contact with him, by which he seemed to bind chance acquaintances as well as friends to him with hooks of steel; of how he was looked up to, implicitly leaned upon and confided in. He filled the measure of statesmanship. Animated by genius for justice and truth, possessing courage of convictions in and above all things, with a true heart, broad sympathies and a wise brain, he was, where he lived, first in popular affection and admira- tion, above envy and beyond rivalry. "Great thoughts, great feelings, came to him like instincts unawares."

Le Roy Percy, a member of the legal firm of Yerger & Percy, Greenville, Miss., is a native of Mississippi, his birth having occurred in Washington county, on the 9th of Novem- ber, 1861. He attended the University of the South at Sewanee, Tenn., and graduated from that institution in 1879, after which he read law in his father's office. He subsequently entered the University of Virginia (where his father and two brothers had graduated) and finished his course there in 1881, being examined on his twenty-first birthday. Since then he has been practicing at Greenville, and though young in years is a fluent and ready speaker, and is well fitted for the profession he has chosen. He was married on the 9th of December, 1883, to Miss Camille E. Bourges, a native of Louisiana, and to them has been born one child, William A. Mrs. Percy is a member of the Catholic church. Mr. Percy is active in politics and has been chairman of the county executive committee. He was in partnership with his father and Mr. Yerger until the former's death, and since then the firm has continued as Yerger & Percy. Mr. Percy was the second of five children born to Col. William Alexander and Nannie E. (Armstrong) Percy, the father a native of Alabama and the mother of Tennessee. The children were named as follows: Fannie (died in 1882), Le Roy, W. A. (a lawyer of Memphis), Walker (a lawyer in Birmingham), and Lady (wife of Charles Mckinney, of Knoxville, Tenn.). When quite a lad the father came with an elder brother to Washington county, Miss., opened a tract of land, and passed his youthful days in that state and in Alabama. He attended Princeton college, New Jersey, also the University of Virginia, and there took a course in law, graduating about 1854 or 1855. He afterward returned to Washington county, Miss., and there made his permanent home. He was married about 1856 or 1857 to Miss Nannie Armstrong, of Tennessee, who is still living. In 1861 he entered the Confederate army, and with the rank of captain took the first com- pany from Washington county. He served until the close of the war. During the siege of Vicksburg he was on the staff of General Bowen, and later he was in the army of Virginia, surrendering at the close as colonel. In 1875 he was a member of the executive committee and soon after was elected to the state legislature from Washington county. He was reelected the next term and was afterward made speaker of the house. From this time on he could have been elected to almost any office, but declined to have his name placed in nomi- nation. It may be said of his character that he was upright and honorable in all his deal- ings, and had hosts of friends whose confidence and esteem was his highest eulogium. He

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died on the 19th of January, 1888, a worthy member of the Episcopal church. A poem, "The Sunstruck Eagle," was written by Eleanor Percy Lee in the year 1843, and was dedi- cat ed to the memory of Col. W. A. Percy by her daughter on account of the strange coinci- dence of his being called "The Gray Eagle of the South":

THE SUNSTRUCK EAGLE.

I saw an eagle sweep the sky, The God-like seeking his place on high; With a strong and wild and rapid wing, A dark, and yet a dazzling thing, And his arching neck, his bristling crest, And the dark plumes quivering upon his breast.

And his eye bent up to each beam of light,

Like a bright sword flash'd, with a sword in flight.

I saw him rise o'er the forest trees;

I saw his pinions ride the breeze;

Beyond the clouds I watched him tower

On his path of pride, his flight of power; I watched him wheeling stern and lone,

Where the keenest ray of the sun was thrown,

Soaring, circling, bathed in light- Such was that desert eagle's flight.

Suddenly, then, to my straining eye,

I saw the strong wing slack on high,

Failing, falling to earth once more, The dark breast covered with foam and gore,

The dark eyes' glory dim with pain,

Sick to death with a sunstruck brain;

Reeling down from that hight divine, Eagle of heaven, such fall was thine.

Even so we see the sons of light

Up to the day-beam steer their flight, And the wing of genius cleaves the sky, As the clouds rush on when the wind is high; Then comes the hour of sudden dread; Then is the blasting sunlight shed, And the gifted fall in their agony, Sunstruck eagle, to die like thee.

The Hon. Charles H. Perkins, of Yazoo City, was born in Benton, Yazoo county, Miss., February 24, 1850, and is the twelfth of a family of fourteen children. His parents, R. S. G. and Judith N. (Hurst) Perkins, were natives of Virginia and Mississippi respectively. The father was prominently identified with the earlier political history of the county. He was district attorney for four years, and for some time held the office of probate judge. For four years he represented the people of his county in the state legislature, exerting a marked influence in that body, and giving entire satisfaction to his constituency. He was graduated in law at the age of eighteen years, when he was admitted to the bar by a special act of the legislature. He vigorously prosecuted all his duties as a public servant, and as a citizen he was never found wanting. He died at the age of fifty-seven years, in 1862. His wife sur- vived until 1887, when she passed away at the age of seventy-five years. He was of Scotch lineage, and Mrs. Perkins was a relative of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Charles H. was reared in Yazoo county, and was educated in the common schools. His opportunities were very limited,

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so that it was mainly through his own exertions he was fitted for the path in life which he chose for himself. He has been dependent upon his own resources since he was a lad of fourteen years. After the war he engaged in farming, which he continued ten years. In 1874 he took up the study of law, reading in the evening after the day's work was done. He worked along in this way until 1878, when he was admitted to the bar, and has been engaged in professional duties since that time. In 1887 he was elected to the legislature, and filled the same chair in that honorable body which his father had occupied forty years before him. He is truly "a chip of the old block," and is destined to make his mark high above the point ordinarily attained. In connection with his professional work he finds time to attend to a considerable amount of planting, and is an excellent manager. He is a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, and belongs to the I. O. O. F. fraternity. He is a man of a great deal of individuality and determination, and it is probably due to these two traits that he has won the position he so ably fills.

Ebenezer M. Perkins, Booneville, Miss., who owns a large and well-improved farm seven miles southwest of Booneville, and who is one of the enterprising farmers of the county, was originally from the Old North state, born in 1813. His parents, Samuel and Elizabeth (Marsh) Perkins, were natives also of that state, but the father moved his family to Giles county, Tenn., and became one of the most extensive planters in that county. His children, six in number, were named as follows: Hugh (deceased), John (deceased), William (deceased), Eben- ezer, Solomon (deceased), and Lucinda (resides in Tennessee). The mother of these children was a consistent member of the Baptist church and received her final summons in Tennessee. The father was afterward married to Mrs. Anna Dill, who bore him eight children: Amanda, Hardiman, Catherine (deceased), Joe, Simeon, Samuel, Eliza and Anna. The father died in 1850 and his body is interred in Hardin county, Tenn. Ebenezer M. Perkins received a com- mon-school education in Tennessee, commenced farming for himself when young, and in 1858 moved to Mississippi, settling on a farm in Prentiss county. Previous to this, while a resident of Tennessee, he met and married Miss Elizabeth Usserry, a native of Tennessee, born in 1823, and the daughter of William and Jane (Marsh) Usserry, both natives of North Carolina. Mrs. Perkins was one of the following children: Eli, Lucinda, Ellen, Sallie, Jane, Thomas, Eliza, Patrick and Elizabeth. To Mr. and Mrs. Perkins were born six chil- dren: Patrick, married Miss Annie Miller (deceased) and subsequently married Mrs. Caddie Johnson, who at that time had two children; Samuel and Baxter, with their mother in Prentiss county; Amanda, widow of Benjamin Donalson, resides at Corinth with her three children: Anna, Dora and John; Thomas, married Mrs. Mary Wallace, who at that time had one child, William (they now reside in Palestine, Tex.); Mollie, wife of William Duke, resides in Cory- ell county, Tex., and is the mother of five children: Emma, Basil, Samuel, Marsh and Etna; Callie (deceased) was the wife of Thomas Braden and left two children: Callie and Paul; and Sallie, wife of James Miller, resides in Booneville and is the mother of six children: Terry, Lizzie, Albert, Katie, Lushion and Estma. Mr. Perkins' first wife died in 1882 and is buried at Booneville. She was an excellent woman and a devout Christian. Mr. Perkins was married the second time to Miss Fannie Lucus, daughter of Willis and Louisa (Smith) Lucus. Mr. and Mrs. Lucus have two children: Pearl and Allice. Mr. Perkins is a democrat in politics. He is a liberal contributor to churches, schools and all public enterprises and he and Mrs. Perkins are members of the Christian church.

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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 90

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