USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III > Part 101
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teem and confidence in which he is held in the community. He has attained to high rank in the time-honored Masonic fraternity, having rounded the circles of both the York and Scottish Rites and having been honored with the office of grand master of the grand lodge of the State in 1900 and having later served as registrar of the Missis- sippi Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. He was grand chancellor of the grand lodge of the Knights of Pythias of Mississippi in 1882 and was supreme representative of the order in 1884 and 1886. He is a stalwart supporter of the principles and policies of the Democratic party and has shown a loyal interest in public affairs and in all that makes for the advancement and prosperity of his home city, where his friends are in number as his acquaintances. General White is a member of the Presbyterian church. In 1871 General White was united in marriage to Miss Anna T. Richter, and they have four daughters, namely: Fannie W., Mary Lu, Annie, Earline and Robt. M. Fannie W. married Mr. Clem E. Williams, of Macon, Ga., who died in 1898. Mary Lu married the Rev. F. P. Culver of the North Alabama Conference and they reside at Birming- ham, Ala. Annie married Mr. E. H. Robbins of Meridian, Miss, and they now reside at Hattiesburg, Miss.
White, John T., who was the able and honored clerk of the circuit court of Hinds county, met his death at the hands of a dastardly assassin, Feb. 25. 1905, having been murdered by Louis Dennis, without the slightest cause or the least provocation on his part. He was born in Raymond, Hinds county, Jan. 16, 1867, and was long incumbent of offices of trust and responsibil- ity in his native county, where his circle of friends was limited only by that of his ac- quaintances, his popularity being of the most unequivocal type, which fact rendered his untimely death the more deplorable. He was almost continuously in public office from the age of eighteen years until the hour of his death, and practically his entire life was passed in Raymond. Mr. White was a son of Benjamin S. and Annie M. (Pit- man) White, the former of whom came to Raymond during the Civil war, as captain of a troop of Texas scouts, in the Confederate ser- vice. Here he met and married Mrs. Annie M. Pitman Sims and here he passed the remainder of his life, being held in high regard in the community. John T. White attended the schools of Raymond and was thereafter a student for one year in Jefferson college, at Natchez, and one term in the Agricultural and Mechanical college at Starkville. For a time after leaving school he was employed in connection with the street railways of Memphis, Tenn., and he then went to Baton Rouge, La., where he was employed by a lumber concern for a short interval. He then returned to Raymond and soon afterward was appointed deputy sheriff of Hinds county, re-
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taining this incumbency about fifteen years, at the expiration of which, in 1899, he was elected circuit clerk of Hinds county, assum- ing the duties of the office in January, 1900. He was a faithful, capable and accommodating officer and gained the high regard of all with whom he came in contact. His death was an irreparable loss not only to his immediate family but to the whole community, where his memory will be held in lasting honor. He was a stanch supporter of the principles and policies of the Democratic party, was affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Pythias and was a consistent and zealous member of the Presbyterian church, as is also his widow. On July 25, 1892, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. White to Miss Mattie Lee, daughter of William D. and Amanda (Williams) Lee, the former of whom was born in Alabama, of Scotch- Irish extraction, and the latter having been born in North Carolina, of English descent. They were residents of Raymond at the time of their daughter's marriage. Mrs. White was born near this city, Feb. 11, 1873, and was here reared to maturity, securing her pre- liminary educational training in the local schools and supplementing this by three years of study in Blue Mountain college. Of the six children born to Mr. and Mrs. White four are living and all remain with their widowed mother. Their names, in order of birth, are as follows: B. Sterling, William D., Amanda L., and John T. After- the death of her honored husband Mrs. White was appointed deputy circuit clerk of the second district, and she is discharging the duties of this office most admirably and acceptably.
White, John J., president of the J. J. White Lumber Company, of McComb, Pike county, has been a resident of Mis- sissippi since his boyhood days, his parents having here taken up their residence nearly seventy years ago. He has risen to prominence and influence as a business man and sterling citizen, having been most conspicuously identified with the devel- opment of the great lumbering industry in the South and having been a potent factor in the upbuilding of McComb, which was formerly known as McComb City. He is a veteran of the Confederate service in the war between the States and is a citizen to whom is accorded the most unqualified confidence and esteem. John James White, familiarly known as Captain White, was born in Anderson county, S. C., April 1, 1830, and is a son of William Moore White and Jane (McMurtray) White, the former of whom was born in Ireland, in 1803, and the latter having been born in South Carolina, whither her parents came from Scotland. In his native land William M. White was reared and educated, having there studied the art of navigation, and he came to America in 1821, locating in Charleston, S. C., in which State his marriage was sol- emnized in 1828. After coming to America he served a seven years"
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apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade, becoming a specially skill- ful workman and having become a successful contractor and builder. In 1838 he removed with his family to Mississippi and located in Madison county, where he engaged in the manufacturing of lumber, being one of the pioneer operators in that line in the State. He eventually retired from the lumber business, passing the closing years of his life on his fine farm near Camden, Madison county, where he died at the age of eighty-nine years, his devoted wife having pre- ceded him into the life eternal. The subject of this sketch, the eldest in the family of seven children, was eight years of age at the time of the family removal to Mississippi, where he was afforded the advantages of the common schools, making such good use of his opportunities as to become eligible for effective service as a teacher. He devoted his attention to pedagogic labors for some time, and in 1852, at the age of twenty-two years, he was made principal of a school. Teaching, however, proved detrimental to his health, owing to the close confinement, and he abandoned the work to serve an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade. In 1859, in partnership with his brother Robert Emmett, he engaged in the sawmill business near Summit, being identified with this enterprise at the inception of the Civil war. His first aid to the Confederacy was in manufac- turing lumber for the building of gunboats for the use of the Confed- erate navy on the Mississippi river, his brother, Robert Emmett, having in the meanwhile enlisted as a soldier and having later died of brain fever, at Murfreesboro, Tenn., while still enrolled in the Confederate service. John J. White enlisted as a private in the Wilson Guards, which became Company H of the Thirty-ninth Mississippi infantry, which was organized at Jackson. He joined the regiment at Grenada, where it was under the brigade command of General Villepigue, and he served in the operations in northern Mississippi, participated in the two days' battle at Corinth, in Octo- ber 1862, having in the meantime been promoted lieutenant. After the Corinth campaign the regiment was sent to Port Hudson, La., where Lieutenant White served during the siege of 1863. When Port Hudson surrendered he was held prisoner two months in New Orleans and then taken to Johnson's Island, in Lake Erie, where he was held in captivity until the close of the war, when he received his parole and was permitted to return home. He forthwith set himself the task of aiding in the upbuilding of the prostrate South, re-estab- lishing himself in the lumber business and having fought his way to success under the adverse circumstances which compassed all citizens of the South after the close of the war. When McComb City was founded by the Mississippi Valley Company, and the Illinois Central Railroad Company established its shops at that point, Cap- tain White removed his mill plant to a location one mile south of the townsite, where he had a large tract of land and where he has since continued operations, the locality being now known as Whitestown and having been named in his honor. In 1873 the Captain erected his first sawmill in McComb, and that mill was destroyed by fire in 1881, the same having been successfully operated in the interim and
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from it having been shipped one of the first car loads of yellow pine lumber ever sent to the city of Chicago. He immediately rebuilt his plant, upon a larger scale and with the best modern equipment, and his mill at McComb at the present time has a capacity for turning out 75,000 feet of lumber a day. His timberland holdings aggre- gate about 70,000 acres, located in several Mississippi counties and in St. Helena parish, La. Employment is given to about 400 men and the concern is one of the largest of the sort in the State. Captain White was the first man in Mississippi to build and utilize a steam tram-railroad in connection with lumbering operations, and his first engine is still in service on the road, which is about twenty-five miles in length, being standard-gauge and being known as the Liberty- White railroad. It runs between Liberty, the county-seat of Amite county, and McComb, where it connects with the Illinois Central. He is sole owner of the road, which is now equipped with four modern engines, in addition to the original one mentioned, besides other excellent rolling stock. Captain White was president of the Alabama, Georgia and Florida Yellow Pine Lumber association, now lapsed, and has also served as president of the Southern Lumber Manu- facturers' association, in which he is now a director. His alert and progressive individuality and his marked initiative powers have been employed in divers ways and have redounded to the good of the pub- lic and conserved the industrial and civic advancement of his city, county and State. To him McComb owes more than to any other one citizen for its upbuilding and definite prosperity, and his services in this connection have not fallen short of popular appreciation. For many years he has been president of the board of trustees of McComb City female college; he is the principal stockholder in the McComb cotton mills, built at a cost of $250,000; he is a heavy stock- holder in the Pike County bank and several other banking institu- tions; and he is the owner of the electric plant which supplies light to McComb and Summit. He has been the architect of his own fortune and his success has been achieved by worthy means, so that to him is given the confidence and esteem of his fellow men. Captain White is a supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, but has never sought official preferment; he and his wife are mem- bers of the Presbyterian church; and he is a valued and appreciative member of T. R. Stockdale Camp, No. 324, United Confederate Veterans, of which he has served as commander. In 1870 Captain White was united in marriage to Mrs. Helen (Tyree) White, of New Orleans, and they have three sons and two daughters, namely : Beulah, the eldest, is living at home; William, M., who is vice-president of the J. J. White Lumber Company and general manager of the Liberty- White railroad, devoting his attention to the railroad interests-he married Phoeme Stemm, of New Orleans, and they have one child, J. J. White, III; John J., Jr., secretary and manager of the McComb City Cotton Mills, married Lillie Harris of Gastonia, N. C., and they have one child, Helen; Allie is now the wife of J. Blair Alford, also prominently connected with the J. J. White Lumber Company; Hugh L., secretary of the J. J. White Lumber Company, married Judith Sugg, of Providence, Ky. All the children live in Whitestown.
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White, Walter H., is one of the popular and energetic young men of the city of Meridian, where he is engaged in the real estate and loan business and where he has made his home from the time of his birth, being a son of William H. and Crolline (Hopson) White, the former of whom was born in Alabama and the latter in Mississippi. William Henry White was a valiant soldier in the Confederate ranks during the Civil war, serving four years as a member of a Mississippi regiment, and taking part in twenty-seven battles. For many years prior to his death, which occurred in 1897, he was engaged in the drug business in Meridian, having been one of the prominent and honored citizens of this place. His widow still resides in Meridian, and of their children two are living. Walter H. White was born in the city of Meridian, April 16, 1881, and his educational advantages were those of the very superior public schools of his native city. After leaving school he was employed four years in a clerical capac- ity in the office of the American Cotton Oil Company, and at the expiration of this period, on Jan. 1, 1905, he engaged in the real estate and loan business in which he is meeting with gratifying success, having gained recognition as a reliable and enterprising young busi- ness man. In politics he is numbered among the loyal young ad- herents of the Democratic party, while he takes deep interest in all that touches the welfare of his native city. On June 17, 1903, Mr. White was united in marriage to Miss Sadie L. Lewis, daughter of Judge Albert G. and Mollie (Lemon) Lewis, of Jackson, Miss., the former being now deceased, and having been a prominent lawyer and jurist.
Whittle, James William, a successful merchant of Belzoni, was born in Dekalb, Kemper county, Miss., Dec. 12, 1862. He is a son of James E. and Sarah E. (McCrory) Whittle, the former born in Georgia on Sept. 30, 1830, and the lat- ter on Jan. 16, 1843, in Vienna, Pickens county, Ala. Richard Whittle, the pa- ternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a native of North Carolina who moved to Georgia from his native State, thence to Mississippi, being one of the pioneers of the State. Robert Mc- Crory, the maternal grandfather. came to Mississippi, early, from Alabama, and was also one of the first settlers. His father, James McCrory, was a sol- dier of the Revolution under General Gates. Some papers which the family preserved for some time gave an account of the capture,
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single-handed, by James McCrory, of three British officers. James E. Whittle served as a private in Capt. Henry Gully's Mississippi company throughout the Civil war. After the war he settled down to farming. As an evidence of his prosperity and square-dealing is the fact that for more than fifty years he dealt with one mercantile establishment and the books of that establishment show that he was always prompt in the settlement of the claims against him. James W. Whittle studied in a private school of Kemper county. His early training was received on a farm. In 1883 he entered the mer- cantile business, and has been engaged in it ever since. He is today the leading hardware merchant of Belzoni. Like his father and other male ancestors, he is a believer in the principles of the Democratic party, but has never aspired to office. His church affiliations are with the society founded by John Wesley. On Sept. 1, 1891. he married Theodora A., daughter of Calvin G. and Martha A. Joyner of Moss Point, Miss., and to this union five children have been born- Theodore E., July 25, 1892; Martha E., May 11, 1894; Irma E., Feb. 10, 1896; Katie U., Dec. 30, 1898; and James C., April 21, 1901. Mr. and Mrs. Whittle are members of the Knights and Ladies of Honor. Mr. Whittle is distinctively a self-made man. Early in life he exhibited those traits that make for success and his popularity and prosperity attest the fulfillment of early promises.
Wilczinski, Herman, president of the board of supervisors of Washington county and one of the representative citizens and extensive planters of that section of the State, has demonstrated in his career what is possible of accomplishment on the part of the young man of honesty and energy who comes to America from for- cign shores and bends his powers to the attaining of a success worthy the name. He was born and reared in Prussian Po- land, the date of his birth having been Feb. 15, 1847, and he is a son of Joel and Fredericka Wilczinski, who passed their entire lives in the fatherland, being folk of unassuming worth of character.
Herman Wilczinski secured his educational training in the schools of his native province of Posen, where he remained until the year 1864, when, at the age of seventeen years, he severed the home ties and set forth to seek his fortunes in America. He was in the vicinity of Nashville, Tenn., at the time of the memorable battle, which he witnessed, and he was variously employed until 1867, when he took up his permanent abode in Wash- ington county, Miss. There he began to make judicious investments. in real estate and turned his attention to planting, enlarging the scope of his enterprise as his means increased, and he is now the owner of several thousand acres of the most productive land in the county, while he is one of the most progressive and influential plant- ers of the section. On his estate is located the little postoffice vil-
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lage of Wilczinski, named in his honor. In connection with his farming business he has also conducted a general store. In politics Mr. Wilczinski is an uncompromising Democrat, and for the past eighteen years he has served as chairman of the finance committee of the city of Greenville, while further evidence of the high regard in which he is held in the community is that afforded in his retention as president of the board of supervisors of the county, of which body he has been a member since 1902. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, and the Knights of Honor. In 1873 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Wilczinski to Miss Clara L. Nelson, daughter of Francis and Dorothy Nelson, of Cincinnati, Ohio. They have no children of their own, but have adopted four, to whom they are ac- cording the best of advantages. Charles K. is a cadet in the United States military academy at West Point; William K. is attending the the Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical college at Starkville; Dorothy Nelson is attending a conservatory of music in Cincinnati, Ohio; and Clara May remains beneath the home roof. The two adopted sons, whose birth name was Kilborn and who are brothers, are of Scotch-Irish lineage, the original American ancestors having come to the new world in 1660.
Williams, Eld. Edward Dudley, a minis- ter of the gospel of the Primitive Baptist faith, and a planter of means residing in Taylor, was born at Eutaw, Greene county, Ala., Oct. 14, 1846. He is a son of Dr. Edward Arthur and Mary (Stringfellow) Williams. Dr. Williams was born at Greensboro, N. C., but spent most of his active life in LaFayette county, Miss., where he practiced medicine from 1858 to 1872, removing in the latter year to the Delta and there continued his prac- tice until his death in 1895 at the age of seventy-four years. During the Civil war he served in the Ninteenth Mississippi infantry, most of the time as a surgeon in the hospitals, and was captured when Lee withdrew his army from Gettysburg. His wife's father was Enoch Stringfellow, a wealthy planter of Eutaw, Ala. Dr. Williams' parents were Elias and Elizabeth (Ross) Williams who came to Mississippi from Greensboro, N. C., while Indians were still the larger part of the population. Rev. Mr. Williams received a preliminary education in the private schools of LaFayette county, Miss. In 1863, although but sixteen years of age, he enlisted in the Third Mississippi cavalry and served during the balance of the war as a member of Gen. J. R. Chalmers' western army. In politics he has always been a Democrat, but has never aspired to office. In 1881 he became a member of the Primitive Baptist church and in 1894 he was ordained as a minister of that faith. Since that time he has been preaching and otherwise officiating as a minister in La-
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Fayette and surrounding counties, beside keeping an active manage- ment of his plantation near Taylor. On Nov. 19, 1871, Mr. Williams married Miss Amanda Walker, the ceremony being solemnized at Taylor. She is a daughter of Tyrie and Rebecca (Allen) Walker who lived near Oxford, LaFayette county. The father originally came from Murray county, Tenn .; he died when Mrs. Williams was but three years of age. To Mr. and Mrs. Williams have been born ten children. Nettie May is the wife of G. W. Shannon, a merchant of Coffeeville, Miss .; Ora Ophelia married H. L. Turner, a railroad agent at Taylor. Miss .; Edward Lee is a farmer living near Taylor, Miss .; Hampton died in 1898 of yellow fever at the age of twenty years; Albert Sidney and Charles are at home; Grover Dudley, who was born Oct. 31, 1875, died at home on Sept. 18, 1906; Mary Joe is the wife of E. W. Williams, a merchant of Taylor; Commie Cleve- land, who was born Aug. 27, 1892, died on Sept. 25, 1898, of yellow fever, and Vira Annis, born Jan. 16, 1895. Eld. Williams is well and favorably known over the county and State. As a minister he is forceful and eloquent; as a business man, conservative, thorough and careful.
Williams, J. Rice, physician and sur- geon at Houston, the judicial center of Chickasaw county, is a man of high pro- fessional attainments and controls a rep- resentative practice in his chosen field of endeavor. He was born at Redland, Pontotoc county, near the border of Chick- asaw county, Miss., on Aug. 3, 1867, and is a son of Oliver and Regina (Cockerell) Williams, the former of whom was born in Kentucky and the latter in South Carolina, while both families were early founded in Mississippi, Thomas H. Wil- liams, paternal grandfather of the doctor, having been a member of the State senate in 1844-46. Oliver Williams, whose life has been devoted principally to agricultural pursuits. was a loyal soldier of the Confederacy during the Civil war, having been a member of Company H, Eleventh Mis- sissippi infantry. In Houlka, Chickasaw county, Dr. Williams se- cured his early educational training, and in 1892-3 he attended lec- tures at the University of Tennessee, after which he appeared before the Mississippi State board of medical examiners and after a rigid examination received a permanent license to practice medicine. He soon returned to college, however, and completed his course, being graduated as a member of the class of 1894 and receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine. He began practice in 1893, at Houlka, and in 1896 he took a post-graduate course in Nashville medical college. In 1899 he removed from Houlka to Vanvleet, Chickasaw county, where he remained until 1903, when he located in Houston, where he met with gratifying professional and popular reception and where he has attained marked precedence in the work of his profession.
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He is a member of the county medical association, and in 1904 was appointed local surgeon for the Mobile & Ohio railroad He is a Democrat in politics, is identified with the Masons, Knights of Pyth- ias and Woodmen of the World, and both he and his wife are mem- bers of the local Presbyterian church, in which the doctor is an elder. In 1896 Dr. Williams was married to Miss Nona Hobson, daughter of J. Archie and Ella (Griffin) Hobson, of Houlka, Miss., and their only son, Felix T. Williams, was born March 19, 1899. In 1900 the subject of this review and his brother. Thomas A. Williams, bought of William Moseley a private telephone line. They put in an exchange in 1903 and conducted the business until September, 1904, when they sold to the Cumberland Telephone Company, and since which time Dr. Williams has been local manager of the enter- prise.
Williams, William. It is gratifying to note the rise of the native sons of Mississippi to positions of prominence and influence in their respective fields of endeavor, and especially to take cognizance of the number who are serving the commonwealth in offices of high public trust and responsibility. Of this list is Mr. Williams, who is the able incumbent of the office of attorney-general of the State. Mr. Williams was born at Westville, Simpson county, Miss., Nov. 15, 1870, being a son of Francis Marion Williams and Rebecca Jane Williams, representatives of old and honored families of the State. The father was a leal and loyal soldier of the Confederacy during the Civil war, enlisting in 1861 and remaining in active service until the final surrender and the downfall of the cause for which he had so faithfully and valiantly fought. To the common schools of his native county the present attorney-general is indebted for his earlier educational advantages, and after due preparation he was matricu- lated in Mississippi college, at Clinton, where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1895, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Science. He then entered the law school of Millsaps college, in the city of Jackson, where he completed the prescribed technical course and where he was graduated in June, 1897, with the degree of Bache- lor of Laws. He was appointed chief clerk in the office of the State treasurer, by Hon. A. Q. May, serving in that position from January, 1896, to September, 1898. In the meantime, in the summer of 1897, he initiated the practice of his profession, in the capital city, and in September of the following year he removed to Hazlehurst, Copiah county, where he remained in active practice until November, 1900, when he returned to Jackson, having been appointed assistant attor- ney-general, by Attorney-General Monroe McClurg, June 23, 1902. General McClurg resigned his office early in 1903, and on Feb. 4, of that year Governor Longino appointed Mr. Williams to fill the vacant post, for whose duties he had already proven himself admirably equipped. On Nov. 3, following, General Williams was elected to succeed himself for a term of four years. His administration of this important office has been signally discriminating and effective and has gained to him uniform popular and official endorsement. General Williams is found stanchly arrayed as a supporter of the principles
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