Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III, Part 100

Author: Rowland, Dunbar, 1864-1937, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Atlanta, Southern Historical Publishing Association
Number of Pages: 938

USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III > Part 100

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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ball, weight two and one-fourth ounces, and it was not removed for 9 years, 3 months and 2 days. The wound was a severe one. After his recovery he was assigned to duty in the commissary department, in which he continued to serve until the close of the war. He studied dentistry under the preceptorship of Dr. S. D. Muse, of Monticello, this State, and later took a course of lectures in the Cincinnati dental college. Since that time he has taken several post-graduate courses, keeping himself in close touch with the marvelous advances made in his profession, which represents both a science and a mechanical art. He has been engaged in active practice since 1867 and has been a resident of Brookhaven since 1870, here controlling a large and lucrative professional business. In politics he has never wavered in his support of the principles and policies of the Democracy and he has been a factor in public affairs in his section of the State. In 1878 he was elected a member of the board of supervisors of Lincoln county, and he served three consecutive terms as representative of the county in the State legislature, having been elected in 1882, 1884 and 1886. In November, 1903, he was again elected to the house of representatives and he is one of the active and valued workers in the deliberative body of the legislature. He is affiliated with the United Confederate Veterans, the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Honor, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Presby- terian church. In 1869 Dr. Watts married Miss Nannie L. Mitchell, daughter of the late James C. Mitchell, of Copiah county. They became the parents of seven children, namely: Pauline, who is the wife of Isaac W. Hoskins; Addie, who married John W. White and who is now deceased; Joseph J., who resides in Fayette, a dentist by profession; VanBuren, Jr., who is deceased; Harry L., who is a dentist at Hattiesburg and Thomas M., manager of the Cumberland telephone and telegraph company at Lafayette, La., and Marie, who remains at the parental home.

Weathersby, Augustus Edward, is a member of the prominent law firm of Weathersby & Mayson, of Columbia and Purvis, in each of which places they main- tain an office, while the former is the home of Mr. Weathersby, who is known as one of the representative members of the bar of that section of the State. He was born in Lawrence county, Miss., on April 16, 1864, and is a son of Dr. Willis G. and Amanda R. (Longino) Weathersby, both of whom were born and reared in Lawrence county, where the father was for many years actively engaged in the practice of medicine, being one of the county's leading physicians and surgeons. The mother of our sub- ject is a sister of Hon. Andrew Houston Longino, of Jackson, ex- governor of Mississippi. Augustus E. Weathersby completed the curriculum of the public schools and then entered the University

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of Mississippi, at Oxford, in which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1884. In 1879 he was appointed to the position of deputy circuit and chancery clerk of Lawrence county, and, with an interim of but one year, continued incumbent of this position until 1882, when he began reading law under the preceptorship of his uncle, ex-Governor Longino, being duly ad- mitted to the bar of his native State in 1884. He served his pro- fessional novitiate in his native county, and in 1900 came to Colum- bia, where he has since maintained his home, while his firm controls a large and important practice in the Federal courts of the State and in the local courts of Marion, Lawrence and Lamar counties, having been concerned in much important litigation and retaining a representative clientage. Mr. Weathersby has taken a loyal and commendable interest in the work and the cause of the Democratic party, and in 1895 he was elected to represent the Eighth senatorial district in the State senate, his district comprising Lincoln and Lawrence counties. He took an active part in the work and delib- erations of the upper house of the legislature and proved an able and discriminating representative of public interests. Since his retirement from the senate he has given his undivided attention to the exacting work of his profession, in which he has attained to worthy precedence through earnest effort. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen of the World and is popular in professional, business and social circles. On Sept. 27, 1905. our subject was married to Miss Stella Baylis, daughter of John and Floyd (Rankin) Baylis. Mr. Baylis is prominent in the sawmill industry of the State. George Baylis, the grandfather of Mrs. Weathersby, was one of the old set- tlers of Marion county, Miss., and a very prominent and influential man in his day and time in that county. Mrs. Weathersby is a gradu- ate of the Industrial institute and college of Columbus, Miss.

Webb, William H., the efficient and popular county clerk of Amite county, residing in Liberty, is also a member of the bar of the State, though not engaged in active practice, and he is an honored veteran of the Confederate service in the Civil war. He was born in Liberty, this county, Feb. 25, 1843, and is a son of George F. and Louisa M. T. (Harrell) Webb, the former of whom was also born in Amite county and the latter of whom was born in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The paternal great- grandfather of Mr. Webb, James Rhodes, was a soldier in the Continental line in the War of the Revolution and he settled in Amite county, Miss., in the early territorial days. His wife was a cousin of Pres. Andrew Jackson. George F. Webb was a prominent and influential citi- zen of Amite county, having been a lawyer by profession and having

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wielded much influence in political affairs. He entered the Con- federate service at the time of the Civil war, enlisting in the Thirty- third Mississippi infantry and later being promoted brigade commis- sary, with the rank of major. Both he and his wife continued to reside in Amite county until their death. William H. Webb duly availed himself of the advantages of the schools of his native town and he was a youth of eighteen years at the inception of the war between the States. He forthwith tendered his aid in support of the Confederate cause, enlisting as a private in Company C, Seventh Mississippi infantry, and later becoming a member of Company E, Twenty-second Mississippi infantry. He took part in the battles of Shiloh, Franklin and Murfreesboro, and thereafter continued with his command in active service until the close of the war, par- ticipating in many of the important engagements which marked the progress of the great internecine conflict. He was wounded at Shiloh, but was not long incapacitated for duty. He retains a deep interest in his old comrades in arms and signifies the same by his membership in the United Confederate Veterans. After the war Mr. Webb was admitted to the bar, but impaired health soon rendered it necessary for him to retire from the active work of his profession. He turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, in which he continued until 1891, when he was elected county assessor, serving one term. In 1899 he was elected county clerk, being chosen as his own successor in 1902 and still remaining incumbent of the office, in which his services have been most effective and satisfactory. He pays allegiance to the Democratic party, is identified with the Masonic fraternity and is a member of the Baptist church. On Dec. 12, 1867, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Webb to Miss Mattie L. Griffin, daughter of John C. Griffin, of Amite county, and she was summoned to the life eternal July 8, 1902, being survived by two sons and three daughters; they are: Minnie L., now the wife of Hamilton H. Havis, of Vicksburg, Miss .; W. McClung, who re- sides in Amite county; Mary A., now the wife of Dr. R. M. Butler, of Liberty, Miss .; Cornelia R., now the wife of George H. McMillan, of Liberty, Miss., and Q. Lamar, a lumberman of Vicksburg, Miss.

Wetherbee, J. Perron, of Waynesboro, is one of those liberal men of distinctive initiative power who have been the prime factors in bringing about the industrial rehabilitation and magnificent devel- opment of Mississippi, and he has been concerned in enterprises of marked importance, being at the present time one of the leading merchants of Waynesboro and having other extensive interests in this section. Mr. Wetherbee was born in Chickasaw county, Miss., July 10, 1855, and is a son of J. A. Wetherbee, a prosperous planter of the State. J. Perron Wetherbee was afforded the advantages of the common schools of his native State and was reared to the life of the home plantation. In May, 1876, he established himself in the general merchandise business in Waynesboro, where he also placed a turpentine still in operation, being particularly successful in his business operations and having the wisdom to utilize his in- creasing capital in the expansion of his business interests. He has

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been continuously engaged in business in this thriving little city ever since the centennial year with the exception of an interval of three years, including the year 1883, during which he was engaged in the grain and feed business in the city of Meridian. In 1886 he erected a large sawmill at Waynesboro, the same having been the first in the State to operate a steam railroad for the purpose of hauling logs, while its equipment throughout was of the highest standard. The mill had a capacity for the output of 75,000 feet of lumber a day, and he continued to operate the same until 1893. Mr. Wether- bee owned one of the largest general merchandise establishments in Waynesboro, and his trade extended throughout the wide area of country tributary to the town. He is a stockholder, director and a member of the executive committee of the Stonewall Cotton Mill, in Stonewall, and is also a stockholder in the Union Bank and Trust Company of Meridian, while he has large investments in valuable farming lands in Wayne county. He is a Democrat and belongs to the Masonic order. In May, 1877, Mr. Wetherbee was united in marriage to Miss Mary Edwards, daughter of William Edwards, a well known resident of Rankin county, and of the children of this union the following brief record is entered: William is a resident of New Orleans, La .; John A. now resides in Clarke county, Miss .; Dr. Charles A. is engaged in the practice of his profession in Mississippi, having been a student in Barnes medical college at St. Louis for one year, and in the Tulane university, New Orleans, for two years, while he was graduated in the medical department of the University of Tennessee, at Sewanee, Tenn .; and Oscar W., Ola, Clement, Leona, Mary, Alexander and Marshall.

Wetherbee, Charles P., of Meridian, has passed his entire life in Mississippi and is one of its representative citizens and business men, controlling important industrial and capitalistic interests. He was born in Chickasaw county, Miss., March 30, 1851, and is a son of Joseph A. and Matilda (Warnock) Wetherbee, both of whom were born in Alabama, whence they came to Mississippi more than half a century ago. Joseph Alexander Wether- bee, of whom individual mention is made in this volume, is still living, being an octogenarian, but his wife passed away several years ago. The father first settled in Chickasaw county, where he resided about twelve years, then removing to Wayne county, where he has made his home for the greater portion of the time since, while he was for many years successfully engaged in the sawmill and mercantile business, and during the latter part of the Civil war he was in service as a valiant soldier in the Confederate ranks, having been a prisoner at Point Lookout, Md., at the time of the surrender, after which he was re- leased and returned to his home. Charles P. Wetherbee was edu-

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cated in the schools of Chickasaw and Wayne counties, and early became familiar with the details of the lumbering and mercantile business as conducted by his father. Finally he became associated with his brother, A. M., in the operation of a sawmill in Wayne county, and he and his brother, W. C., were the pioneers in this State in the matter of hauling logs to the mill by steam power, while they con- tinued to be actively engaged in lumbering operations in Wayne county until 1903, when they removed to Meridian and effected the purchase of the plant and business of the Martin Machine Works, one of the largest concerns of the sort in the South, and they have since continued operations most successfully, manufacturing all kinds of machinery and dealing in mill supplies of every description. Charles P. is also president of the Southern bank, of Meridian; is vice-president and chairman of the executive committee of the Beatrice Cotton Manufacturing Company, and a member of the firm of Wetherbee, Huggins & Company, of Waynesboro, general merchants and manufacturers of lumber and excelsior. He was formerly president of the Bank of Waynesboro. Mr. Wetherbee is a stalwart Democrat in his political faith, is identified with the Ma- sonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and both he and his wife are members of the Central Methodist Episcopal church of Meridian. On Nov. 21, 1876, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Wetherbee to Miss Mattie Iona Dunlap, daughter of the late Dr. John and Susan (Kilpatrick) Dunlap of West Point, Miss. Mr. and Mrs. Wetherbee have seven children: Joseph A., Jr., is engaged in the lumbering business at Waynesboro; E. L. is identified with the Wetherbee Machine Company, in Meridian; Charles P., Jr., is also concerned with this flourishing business; Hattie is the wife of Dr. G. A. Rush, of Tupelo, Miss .; and Andrew, Grover and Lucille remain at the parental home.

Wetherbee, Joseph Alexander, is one of the venerable and honored pioneers of the city of Waynesboro and has been promi- nently identified with the industrial and civic development of the State. He was born in McMinn county, Tenn., Nov. 24, 1823, and is a son of Moses and Sarah (Bolding) Wetherbee, the former of whom was born in Rutherford county, N. C., and the latter in South Carolina. Of their twelve children only two are now living. When the subject of this sketch was about five years of age his parents removed to Alabama, where he was reared and educated and where he con- tinued to reside until he had attained to the age of twenty-three years, when, in February, 1847, he removed to Mississippi and lo- cated at Okolona, Chickasaw county, having been married the day of his removal from Alabama. In 1848 he purchased property in the village, where he maintained his home for twelve years, engaged

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in the manufacturing of wagons, plows, buggies, etc. He then disposed of his interests in that county and came to Wayne county, where he purchased a tract of land and turned his attention to farming and lumbering. At the outset of the war between the States Mr. Wetherbee manifested his loyalty to the cause of the Confederacy by entering the service of its government, giving his attention to cutting lumber for government use during the first three years of the war and in December, 1864, becoming a member of Company C, Eleventh Mississippi regiment, with which he served until the close of the war, his command having been at- tached to the brigade commanded by Gen. Joseph Davis and having seen much active service within the period of his identification there- with. After the close of the war he returned to his home and re- sumed his active association with the lumbering industry, having operated a sawmill and having been numbered among the pioneer lumbermen of the State. When he first engaged in this line of enter- prise the Mississippi & Ohio railroad was the only line in the State, and he loaded the first freight car that reached Okolona. Mr. Wether- bee has been a man of marked initiative and executive power and far-seeing judgment, and his enterprise and progressive spirit have been shown in divers and helpful ways, as he has concerned himself in various lines of business which have conserved the progress and upbuilding of the State. He has had extensive farming interests, has been a successful manufacturer of lumber, turpentine, etc., and has been engaged in merchandising, milling, cotton-growing and the conducting of well equipped cotton gins. He was one of the organ- izers of the Bank of Waynesboro and also of the old Meridian Na- tional bank, in the city of Meridian, the same having been later merged into the present Union Bank and Trust Company, in which he continues a stockholder. He has been one of the loyal and pub- lic-spirited citizens of Waynesboro, to whose upbuilding he has con- tributed materially in all lines. The place had about fifty inhabitants when he took up his residence there and it is now one of the many attractive towns of the State. His political adherence has ever been given to the Democratic party but he has never sought office, having been essentially a business man. He is affiliated with the United Confederate Veterans and has been for many years a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, of which his wife likewise was a zealous and valued member. On Feb. 12, 1846, in Franklin county, Ala., Mr. Wetherbee was united in marriage to Miss Matilda Warnock, who was born in Pendleton district, S. C., whence she came with her parents to Alabama her father having been a wagonmaker and general mechanic. She was summoned to the life eternal in 1899, having been her husband's devoted com- panion and helpmeet for nearly half a century and having held the affectionate regard of all who knew her. Of the five children of this union three are living.

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Wharton, Ramsey, mayor of Jackson, was born at Bolton, Hinds county, Miss., on Oct. 10, 1855, a son of F. A. R. and Cora M. (Robinson) Wharton. The father was born in Lebanon, Davidson county, Tenn., and the mother at McMinnville, Murray county, Tenn. Jesse Wharton, the pa- ternal grandfather, was elected to the lower house of the United States con- gress from Davidson county, Tenn. The subject of this sketch received due pre- liminary discipline in the common schools of the State, after which he attended Mississippi college at Clinton and subse- Oxford. quently the University of Mississippi at When he had completed his scholastic work he engaged in farming for a term of four years, devoting his evenings to the study of law. In 1886 he took the State bar examination and was admitted to practice before the courts of Mississippi by the circuit court at Raymond. In 1886-87 he filled a position, by appointment of Gov. Lowry, as State commissioner to the World's Fair at New Orleans. From 1887 to 1892 he was in charge of the office of chan- cery clerk at Jackson, Miss., and in the latter year with a partner established the Wharton & Roberts Insurance agency. In 1896 he was made mayor of this city, and after the expiration of his term became police justice. As the candidate of the Democratic party in 1900 he was chosen to represent his district in the State senate and served one term. In 1905 he was again elected mayor of Jack- son. As the official head of the city he has made Jackson desirable both as a business location and a city of residence. Under is ad- ministration electric cars were first inaugurated, a sanitary system of sewerage was installed, brick schoolhouses were erected and new pavements laid throughout the business portion of the municipality. As a member of the upper house of the State legislature he was an influential member of the capitol building committee, upon whose recommendation the State penitentiary was removed from Jackson and the new capitol building erected where it now stands. His public service has always been most satisfactory to his constituents and of a most upright character. Mayor Wharton has never married. He is a well known and influential member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

Whitaker, Rev. Walter Claiborne, rector of St. Andrew's church, Protestant Episcopal, in the capital city of Mississippi and dean of the Jackson convocation of this diocese, is one of the promi- nent members of the clergy of the church in this State and his earnest labors in setting forth the most lively word in his clerical capacity, as well as his efforts in advancing the temporal interests of the va- rious parishes to which he has been called, have not been denied the most kindly fruitfulness. Mr. Whitaker is incumbent of the most important parochial charge in the State, and the beautiful

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modern church edifice of St. Andrew's stands in evidence of his ma- terial accomplishment, with the earnest co-operation of the members of his parish. Mr. Whitaker was born in Lenoir, Caldwell county, N. C., Jan. 28, 1867, and is a son of Lucius Fletcher Whitaker and Rowena (Oates) Whitaker, the former of whom was born in Raleigh, N. C., Nov. 10, 1828, and the latter in Wilmington, N. C., Jan. 28, 1847. Mr. Whitaker secured his academic education in Isaac B. Vaiden's private school, Marion, Ala., and in the Alabama Poly- technic institute, at Auburn, while his theological education was received under the direction of Bishop Wilmer, of the diocese of Alabama. In 1884 the degree of Bachelor of Arts was conferred upon him by the Alabama Polytechnic institute, from which in 1891 he received the degree of Master of Arts. In Trinity church, in the city of Mobile, Ala., Mr. Whitaker received the orders of the diacon- ate, Aug. 12, 1888, and a few weeks later he was assigned to the Holy Innocents' church, Auburn, Ala., where he remained until his ordina- tion to the priesthood, Feb. 2, 1891, at the apostolic hands of Bishop Wilmer. He then became rector of the Church of the Holy Com- forter, Montgomery, Ala., and within his two years' tenure of this office he erected in his parish a rectory and also a church edifice at Mount Meigs, which had been a missionary parish. May 1, 1893, he became rector of Christ church, in Tuscaloosa, Ala., where he remained nearly nine years, accomplishing much in the vitalizing of all divisions of the parish work. Within this period he also served as editor of the diocesan paper and as assistant secretary of the diocese. He also was a member of the standing committee of the diocese and was deputy representative to the general convention of the church. On Nov. 20, 1901, Mr. Whitaker assumed the rector- ship of St. Andrew's church, in the city of Jackson, and soon after- ward was instituted the erection of the present beautiful and con- sistent church edifice, which represents an expenditure of $35,000, while a magnificent organ was also installed. Upon the death of Bishop Thompson Mr. Whitaker was twice elected by the clergy of the diocese to be bishop of Mississippi, but the choice was not ratified by the laity of the diocese. He is a member and secretary of the standing committee of the diocese, dean of the Jackson convo- cation and a member of the missionary committee of the diocese, of which he was president during the interregnum between the death of Bishop Thompson and the election of his successor. Mr. Whitaker is zealous in all parts of the parish work and has the high regard and sympathetic co-operation of the church folk of his parish, while he enjoys marked popularity among all classes, regardless of his ecclesi- astical connection. He is a Democrat in his political adherency and is identified with the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias. and the Ancient Essenic Order. On April 30, 1891, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Whitaker to Miss Isabel Preston Royall, daugh- ter of Thomas E., and Theodora (Herbert) Royall, of Nottoway county, Virginia. The names, with respective dates of birth, of the three children of this union are here entered: Walter Claiborne, Jr.,

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July 19, 1892; Arthur Preston, June 6, 1895; and Dorothy Herbert, Aug. 7, 1904.

White, Benjamin V., of Meridian, the able and popular incumbent of the office of chancery clerk of Lauderdale county, was a loyal and gallant private soldier in the Confederate service and he has served as brigadier-general of the Second brigade, Mississippi division, United Confederate Veterans and also as major-general com- manding the same. General White was born at Dayton, Marengo county, Ala., March 12, 1848, and is a son of William A. D., and Poceny E. (Henry) White, the former having been a native of Ken- tucky and having died in 1857, and the latter having been a daughter of Will- am F. Henry, who was a representative planter of Alabama. When the subject of this sketch was a child his parents removed from Alabama to Mississippi and located in Clarke county where he was reared and educated. In the spring of 1864, at the age of six- teen years, he entered the Confederate service as a private soldier in the Mississippi battery commanded by Capt. William B. Turner. With this command, which was attached to Maney's brigade, Har- dee's corps, army of Tennessee, he participated in the Tennessee campaign of November and December, 1864, under General Hood, taking part in the battles of Decatur and Nashville. After the re- turn from Tennessee his battery was assigned to Gen. Richard Tay- lor's department, and participated in the defense of Mobile, making a final surrender at Meridian, Miss., in May, 1865, after the fall of Mobile and capitulation of Generals Lee and Johnston. Concerning him the Confederate Military History, published in 1899, speaks as follows: "His record as a boy soldier, though brief, was honorable, and he has always stood high in the estimation of his comrades, veterans of many fields. He was active in the organization of Wal- thall Camp, No. 25, United Confederate Veterans, in Meridian; served as its first adjutant; was adjutant-general and chief of staff of Gen. D. A. Campbell, former commander of the Mississippi division; and at the general reunion, in Charleston, in 1899, he was elected to the command of the Second brigade of the Mississippi division." In 1865, after the close of his career as a soldier of the Confederacy, General White took up his residence in the city of Meri- dian, where he has ever since made his home. He at once identified himself with local business and civic interests, and in 1880 he was elected city treasurer, retaining this office until 1889. He was also deputy chancery clerk from 1884 to 1888. He then engaged in the insurance business, in which he continued until 1891, when he was elected to the office of clerk of the chancery court of Lauderdale county, an incumbency which he has since held without interruption. His long retention of public office offers effective voucher of the es-

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Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III, Part 100

Author: Rowland, Dunbar, 1864-1937, ed Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Atlanta, Southern Historical Publishing Association Number of Pages: 938

Author: Rowland, Dunbar, 1864-1937, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Atlanta, Southern Historical Publishing Association
Number of Pages: 938