USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III > Part 10
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Bradley, Rufus P., one of the representative farmers of Wayne county and a valued member of the board of supervisors of the county, has his postoffice address at Strengthford. He has passed his entire life thus far in the State of Mississippi, and has achieved success through his own efforts, which have been directed along legitimate lines of endeavor and guided and guarded by a spirit of absolute integrity and honor. He was born in Perry county, Miss., March 21, 1849, and is a son of James M. Bradley. His father was born in North Carolina, but while he was still a child his parents came to Mississippi, where he was reared to manhood and where he was identified with agricultural pursuits during the entire course of his independent career. He became the owner of a good farm in Perry county and was held in high esteem by all who knew him, being a man of positive character and unquestionable probity and having taken an active interest in public affairs of a local nature.
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His death occurred in Perry county in the year 1879. Rufus P. Bradley was reared to the sturdy discipline of the homestead planta- tion, in whose work and management he early began to assist, while his educational advantages were somewhat limited, owing to the exigencies of time and place. His schooling was principally secured in Jasper county, where he resided several years. He made his efforts count in his youth and in course of time became one of the prosperous farmers of his native county, where he was held in the highest popular esteem, being called upon to serve in various offices of public trust. He was a member of the board of supervisors of Perry county for two years, was county surveyor for an equal period, served four years as assessor, and made an excellent record in the office of sheriff, of which he was incumbent four years. In 1892 Mr. Bradley disposed of his interests in Perry county and removed to Wayne county, where he now owns and operates a well improved plantation. He has served as justice of the peace of this county, and his services have also been called into requisition as a member of the board of supervisors, of which he is a member at the present time. He is in control of important interests as local land agent for the great lumbering firm of D. A. Blodgett & Com- pany, of Grand Rapids, Mich., whose holdings in Mississippi timber lands are very extensive. In politics Mr. Bradley is unwavering in his allegiance to the Democratic party, and he is affiliated with Waynesboro lodge Free and Accepted Masons, having been identi- fied with this fraternity since 1870. In December, 1879, Mr. Bradley was married to Miss Sophia F. McDonald, daughter of Alexander McDonald, a prominent and influential citizen of Simpson county, Miss., and of the children of this union seven are living, namely : Margaret E .; Mary E., who is married and resides in Wayne county ; Annette, wife of J. D. Dykes, of Perry county ; and Lola, Laura, J. Rufus and William, who remain at the parental home, as does also the eldest daughter.
Bratton, Carl A., of Pontotoc, is one of the able representatives of the legal pro- fession in Pontotoc county, and is a scion of pioneer families of the State. He was born at New Albany, Union county, Miss., July 27, 1878, and is a son of Will- iam A. and Martha (Roach) Bratton, both of whom were likewise born in that State. His father is engaged in the drug business in New Albany and is one of the representative citizens of Union county ; he is a son of Espie Bratton, who was a pioneer settler of Tippah county and who was a loyal soldier of the Con- federacy in the war between the States. The mother of the subject of this review is a daughter of James Roach, who was one of the first settlers of Union county, where he took up his residence in 1830, having removed thither from Rus-
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sellville, Ala. He there built and operated one of the first grist mills in northern Mississippi and also became an extensive planter. Carl A. Bratton completed the curriculum of the common schools and then entered Mississippi college, at Clinton, in which he was grad- uated as a member of the class of 1899 and from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In the following year he was grad- uated in the law department of the University of Mississippi, duly receiving his degree of Bachelor of Laws and being admitted to the bar of his native State shortly afterward. He has attained to unequivocal success in his chosen profession and is one of the lead- ing members of the bar of Pontotoc county. He is associated in practice with Judge Z. M. Stephens, of New Albany, under the firm name of Stephens & Bratton, and they control a large professional business in the northern part of the State. He is a stanch adherent of the Democratic party and is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity of his alma mater, the University of Mississippi. His religious faith is that of the Protes- tant Episcopal church. In 1902 Mr. Bratton was united in marriage to Miss Mariam Bisinger, daughter of the late Henry Bisinger, who was one of the pioneer merchants of Pontotoc. Mr. and Mrs. Brat- ton have one child-Irene.
Brooks, John S., M. D., is one of the leading physicians and surgeons of Tunica county, being established in the successful practice of his profession at Robinsonville. He was born in New Albany, Union county, Miss., Aug. 4, 1849, and is a son of William Jackson and Sarah Bostwick (Bassett) Brooks, the former of whom was born in Newbern, N. C., Feb. 25, 1814, while the latter was born in LaGrange, Ga., Oct. 7, 1819. The Brooks family is of German origin and was founded in America prior to the War of the Revolution, the original ancestors settling in North Carolina. When the colonies entered upon the great struggle for independence, repre- sentatives of this family entered the ranks of the Continental army and bravely fought to gain the boon of liberty, thus aiding in the foundation of our great republic. The family now has representa- tives in.practically every section of the Union. Silas Brooks, grand- father of the doctor, was born in North Carolina, April 26, 1792, and removed thence to Georgia, where his son, William J., was reared to manhood and married .. William J. Brooks served during the Seminole war, and afterward removed with his family to the central part of the State of Tennessee, whence he came to Mississippi, settling in that portion of Pontotoc county which later was organ- ized as Union county, where he continued to reside until his death, which occurred in 1884. William J. Brooks was a member of the State militia of Mississippi prior to the Civil war, and with the
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same entered the Confederate service, serving until the close of the great internecine conflict between the North and the South. Two of his sons were also soldiers in the Confederate ranks, being mem- bers of the Army of Virginia, under General Longstreet. One of them met his death while at the post of duty, in 1862, and the other continued in the ranks until the surrender of General Lee. Dr. Brooks was about twelve years of age at the time of the outbreak of the war, and he well remembers the impressions made upon his boyish mind as the great conflict waged throughout the Southern States, whose eventual sacrifice was the utmost that could be made. Dr. Brooks is to a very great extent self-educated. His father was in very moderate circumstances, and the son was early inured to work, assisting in the support of his parents and providing for his own necessities. He attended the common schools in a somewhat irregular way, studying his text books at night much of the time and working in the fields during the day, while he attended high school for a total of about ten months. So close had been his ap- plication that when he left school he lacked only about two years of completing a course preparing him for entry into the State uni- versity. After the death of his father he continued to aid in the support of the family, giving his attention to farming and to teach- ing in the public schools. He took his first course of medical lectures in 1891-2, and began practice as an undergraduate, having been examined by the Mississippi State board of health in the spring of 1892, making a creditable showing and being granted a license to practice. He began the active work of his profession a few weeks later, at Ellistown, Union county, where he was asso- ciated with Dr. M. D. McWhorter for the ensuing five years, when, in 1898, the partnership was dissolved by mutual consent and Dr. Brooks removed to Robinsonville, where he has since conducted an individual practice, which has grown to be one of wide scope and representative character. He was graduated in the Memphis Hospital medical college, as a member of the class of 1895, receiv- ing his well earned degree of Doctor of Medicine, and in the winter of 1900 he took a post-graduate course in the New York Polyclinic hospital and college. He is a member of the various medical asso- ciations, and keeps in close touch with the advances made in all departments of professional work. The doctor has ever been a stanch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party, and has held various minor offices, including that of county surveyor of Union county, of which position he was incumbent about four years. He has been a member of the Missionary Baptist church for nearly a score of years. In 1874 he was made a master Mason in Booneville Lodge, No. 305, Free and Accepted Masons, being at that time engaged in teaching in Prentiss county. In 1883 he re- ceived the capitular degrees and in the following year the cryptic degrees, while in 1896 he was knighted in Ivanhoe Commandery, No. 10, at Okalona. In 1899 he was made a member of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Vicksburg, and in 1902 he completed the circle of the Scottish Rite up to and
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including the thirty-second degree, Arkansas Consistory, No. 1, at Little Rock, from which body he later demitted and affiliated with Mississippi Consistory, No. 1, Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret, of Meridian, while he now holds all of his Masonic affiliations in Mississippi, his native State. Dr. Brooks remains a bachelor.
Broome, Charles Harris, a prominent attorney at law in Charleston, Talla- hatchie county, is also engaged in the real estate business there and has other cap- italistic interests, being one of the liberal and public-spirited citizens of the attrac- tive little city. Mr. Broome was born in Panola county, Miss., March 23, 1868, and is a son of Dr. Calvin and Narcissa (Boyles) Broome, both of whom are now deceased, the father having been a sur- geon in the Mexican war and having practiced his profession in Mississippi for many years. Mr. Broome completed the curriculum of the public schools of Bates- ville, Panola county, and then took a course of study in the Univer- sity of Mississippi, at Oxford, and he was admitted to the bar of the State in 1892. He was engaged in professional work in Bates- ville for the ensuing six months, at the expiration of which he re- moved to Charleston, where he has since been engaged in practice, while he has also given much attention to the handling of real estate in this section, lending his aid and influence in the support of all measures advanced for the general good of the community. He is a stanch adherent of the Democratic party but has never been incumbent of public office, save that of mayor of Batesville, in which position he served one term. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and both he and his wife are prominent members of the local Presbyterian church, in which he is an elder. On Nov. 18, 1896, Mr. Broome was united in marriage to Miss May Black, daughter of Captain and Hattie (Keith) Black, of Oakland, Miss., and three fine sons have blessed this union-Charles Calvin, Alonzo James and Thomas Keith.
Brown, Edward Floyd, M. D., who is engaged in the practice of his profession in the city of Natchez, is recognized as one of the representative physicians and surgeons of his native State and is now incumbent of the position of surgeon-in-charge of the Natchez hospital, with whose official medical staff he has been identified for more than a decade. Dr. Brown was born in Natchez, Adams county, Miss., Jan. 29, 1868, and is a son of George M. and Kath- arine (Power) Brown. His father was born in Edgefield district, S. C., June 16, 1834, and is still living in the city of Natchez, where he has maintained his home for many years. The mother of Dr. Brown was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, April 30, 1835, and died Oct. 28, 1881. George M. Brown was a valiant soldier of the Con- federacy in the war between the States. He enlisted as a member
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of a Mississippi command in the artillery arm of the service in 1861, was promoted second lieutenant and continued in service until the close of the war. He is now a valued and appreciative member of the United Confederate Veterans. Dr. Brown was afforded the advantages of the best private schools of his native city, including Natchez institute, and thereafter he continued his literary or academic studies in Centenary college, at Jackson, La., and Vander- bilt university. After leaving the last mentioned institution he was matriculated in the medical department of Tulane university, New Orleans, where he completed the prescribed curriculum and was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, as a member of the class of 1896. Shortly after his graduation, Dr. Brown became interne in the Natchez hospital and soon rose to the office of as- sistant surgeon. That his services and fidelity have not lacked ap- preciation is shown in the fact that he has been surgeon-in-charge of this noble institution since April 15, 1898. He has a large and representative private practice and both professionally and socially is held in unqualified esteem in the city which has been his home from the time of his birth. He is a member of the Mississippi medical association and the Adams county medical association, and is affiliated with the Beta Theta Pi college fraternity. The doctor is a stanch adherent of the Democratic party but has never been specially active in the arena of practical politics. He is a bachelor.
Buchanan, James W., of Eupora, Web- ster county, is a leading merchant of the town and one of the substantial planters of that section, while he is a son of the late and honored Dr. S. T. Buchanan, to whom a personal memoir is accorded in this compilation, so that it is not neces- sary to here offer further details concern- ing the family genealogy and history. James W. Buchanan was born in Benela, Calhoun county, Miss., April 17, 1866, and in the common schools of his native county he secured his early educational discipline, which was supplemented by a course in the University of Mississippi, at Oxford. In January, 1889, he became associated with his father in the general merchandise business at Grenada, having the active supervision of the enterprise, and in 1891 he removed to Eupora, where he now conducts one of the largest general stores in Webster county, handling hardware and farming implements in addition to the general lines of merchandise demanded by the trade of his section. He is also the owner of a valuable landed estate, which is operated under his general supervision, while he is known as one of the wide-awake, progressive and reliable business men and public-spirited citizens of his native State. He is a stalwart ad- herent of the Democratic party, and is serving as a member of the board of aldermen of his home city. His religious faith is indicated
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by his membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. On Dec. 6, 1898, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Buchanan to Miss Estra Bays, daughter of Dr. Alfred H. and Mary (Phelps) Bays, of Eupora, and she was summoned into eternal rest in November, 1901, being survived by one daughter, Sarah Christine. The only son, James Walter, died at the age of three years.
Buchanan, George M., is one of the well known and influential citizens of Holly Springs, where he has long maintained his home and with the material and civic interests of which he has been closely concerned. He is a native of the State of Kentucky and comes of distinguished Scotch ancestry, the lineage being traced back in direct line for 250 years. Mr. Buchanan was one of the loyal soldiers who represented Mississippi in the Confederate ranks in the Civil war, having served during the entire course of the great internecine conflict. Since the war his home has been in Marshall county, where he has had important financial interests as a planter, merchant and banker. He has been for many years president of the People's bank of Holly Springs, and he has held various public offices. He was sheriff of the county from 1870 to 1880, and he was United States marshal for the northern district of Mississippi from 1899 to 1905, giving a most able service in this exacting position. He is a stanch adherent of the Democratic party and is enrolled on the roster of comrades in the United Confederate Veterans.
Buchanan, S. T., M. D., who was for many years one of the most prominent and best loved physicians of Calhoun county, died at his home in Benela, that county, June 11, 1900, and his name merits a place on the roll of the noble members of his profession who have dignified the same through their able and unselfish services. He was born in Chatham county, N. C., in 1824, and in that State was reared to maturity. He was a son of Alfred and Mary (Smith) Buchanan, both of whom were likewise born and reared in North Carolina, the former being a son of Joseph Buchanan, a native of Scotland, whence he immigrated to America in the colonial era, settling in North Carolina, while the latter was the youngest of the four children of Rev. Sipon Smith, who came to North Carolina from England, being one of the pioneer clergymen of the Methodist Episcopal church in the State mentioned. Alfred Buchanan died in North Carolina, and his widow survived him by many years, her death occurring in Chatham county, that State, at the age of eighty years. This worthy couple became the parents of eleven children, all of whom attained maturity and of whom eight are still living. At the time of her death the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Mrs. Buchanan were nearly 200 in number. After leaving the common schools Dr. S. T. Buchanan read medicine under the pre- ceptorship of his older brother, Dr. Wesley Buchanan, who was for many years a leading practitioner in North Carolina, and after thus securing a good preliminary discipline the subject of this memoir took a course of lectures in the old University of Philadelphia, Pa., where he was graduated in 1848. He was thereafter associated with his brother in practice in North Carolina, whence in 1853, he
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came to Mississippi and located in Benela, becoming one of the pioneer members of his profession in that section of the State and rising to much prominence in his chosen vocation, while the record of his early labors is one betokening unselfish devotion to suffering humanity under conditions which called for strenuous physical as well as mental tension. He became widely known during the long years of his professional work in Calhoun county, and the name of no pioneer awakens more kindly and reverent feelings than does his. He was also actively identified with industrial enterprises, having become the owner of a fine plantation and having been the founder of the S. T. Buchanan Mill and Manufacturing Company, in Benela, while he had other important capitalistic investments, his landed estate comprising about 2,000 acres. He gave loyal support to the Confederacy during the Civil war, and in politics his allegiance to the Democratic party was unwavering, while he was a valued and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as is also his wife, who still resides in the old homestead in Benela, where she is held in affectionate regard by a wide circle of friends. In Novem- ber, 1853, Dr. Buchanan wedded Miss Sarah A. Gaston, who was born in Alabama, being a daughter of Judge Hugh Gaston, who was one of the influential pioneers of Calhoun county, Miss., where he served on the circuit bench for a number of years. Dr. and Mrs. Buchanan became the parents of six children, of whom three are living: Mary A., wife of Dr. Lawrence; James W., individually mentioned in this volume; and Clara Anna, at home with her widowed mother. Wesley G. died in infancy; Ella J. became the wife of Andrew J. Underwood and died one year later ; and Will- iam, who had finished a literary course in the University of Mis- sissippi and was in the second year's work in the law department of that institution, died, a most promising life being thus cut short.
Bullard, Robert Lee, a prominent and popular member of the bar of Scott county and a veteran of the Spanish-American war, is engaged in the practice of his profession at Forest, where he has a representative clientage. He was born in Conehatta, Newton county, Miss., Nov. 17, 1867, and is a son of James S. and Laine (Finlayson) Bullard, both native of Alabama. His maternal great- grandfather served as a soldier in the Continental line during the War of the Revolution, while in the paternal genealogy the data indicates that the family was founded in America within the colonial epoch of our national history. Duly profiting by the advantages afforded in the public schools of Mississippi, Mr. Bullard made him- self eligible for pedagogic honors, and was successfully engaged in teaching about three years, while in 1892 he was admitted to the bar of his native State, having carried on his technical reading under able preceptorage and having thoroughly grounded himself in the science of jurisprudence, so that he was well equipped for the practical work of his profession. He established himself in practice at Scranton, the judicial center of Jackson county, where he was located for a period of seven years, or up to the time of the outbreak of the Spanish-American war, when he enlisted in the
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Fifth United States volunteers, with which he went to Cuba, where he remained for a period of nine months, within which time Gen. Leonard Wood appointed him to superintend the distribution of supplies to the reconcentrados, in which capacity he served until he was honorably discharged and mustered out. He is a member of the Spanish war veterans association and also of the Masonic fra- ternity, while his political allegiance is given in an uncompromising way to the Democratic party, in whose faith he was reared. After his return from Cuba, Mr. Bullard located in Forest and resumed the practice of his profession, and here is meeting with gratifying success in his work and in the class of citizens who represent his clientele. Dec. 7, 1903, witnessed the marriage of Mr. Bullard to Mrs. Edna M. Porter, daughter of W. M. McGough, a prominent resident of Morton, Scott county. They have an attractive home in Forest and are prominent in the social life of the community.
Burrus, John Crawford, of Benoit, Bol- ivar county, is one of the well known citizens of that section and a member of one of the old and honored families of the State, while he rendered loyal service in the ranks of the Confederate army dur- ing the Civil war. Mr. Burrus was born near Jackson, the capital city of Missis- sippi, in Hinds county, Sept. 5, 1847, and is a son of John Crawford Burrus, Sr., who was born in Madison county, Ala., Aug. 25, 1814, and whose maternal grandfather, Judge Daniel Coleman, was a member of the house of burgesses in Virginia, while two of the latter's sons were soldiers in the Continental line during the War of the Revo- lution. Margaret Louisa (McGehee) Burrus, mother of him whose name initiates this article, was born in Wilkinson county, Miss., . Oct. 8, 1821, and she likewise came of stanch Revolutionary stock. Her great-grandfather, Col. James Jack, was a colonel in the Con- tinental army and rendered gallant service in the cause of inde- pendence, and was the bearer of the "Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence" from Mecklenburg to Philadelphia. Our subject re- tains, as a valued heirloom, a miniature of Colonel Jack taken in colonial dress-hair in que and powdered. Her father, Archibald McGehee, was a soldier in the War of 1812. He removed from Virginia to Georgia, where he married Cynthia Jack Cosby. The family became prominent in that section while both the lines repre- sented were extensive slaveholders. Archibald McGehee first moved from Georgia to Wilkinson county, Miss., and afterward purchased a very large landed estate in Hinds and Madison counties, Miss. He later removed with his family to Huntsville, Ala., where he passed the remainder of his life in order to give his children the advantage of better educational facilities, but retained his Missis- sippi land holdings. Carolos, or Charles, Burrus, father of John
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