USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III > Part 107
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Yerger, William Gwin. In the death of Captain Yerger, Nov. 6, 1899, at his home in the city of Greenville, the bar of Mis- sissippi lost one of its ablest and most distinguished representatives and the com- monwealth one of its valued citizens, but over and above such considerations as this is to be considered the true nobility and worth of character which designated this man among men-a man to whom personal honor was inviolable; to whom life had a meaning and a canopy of res- ponsibility; and to whom was given the power and conscientiousness to order his course according to principles which stand for all that is best and truest in the scheme of human existence. The prescribed province and limitations of this publication permit of no extended review of the career of any citizen, but consistency demands that here be incorporated an epitome of the life history of him whose name initiates this paragraph. William Gwin Yerger was born at Vicksburg, Miss., July 22, 1840, being a son of Judge Jacob Shall Yerger, who removed to Vicksburg in 1842 and thence to his Panola plantation, on Deer creek in 1845. On this old home-
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stead the subject of this memoir passed his boyhood and youth, receiving good educational advantages of a preliminary order and finally entering Princeton college, N. J., where he completed his academic studies. The foundation of his broad and exact legal education was laid in the law school of Cumberland university, at Lebanon, Tenn. Thereafter he was continuing his technical study under the preceptorship of his able and honored father, one of Mis- sissippi's distinguished legists and jurists, when the dark cloud of war cast its pall over the national firmament and caused him to subor- dinate all other interests to the cause of the Confederacy-the defense of his country and his home. He entered the service as aide-de-camp on the staff of Gen. J. L. Alcorn, but soon resigned this position to enlist as a private in the company known as the Burt Rifles, Eighteenth Mississippi infantry. He took part in the first great battle of Manassas, after which he was promoted captain of his company. Having been prostrated by a severe illness, he re- turned to his home, on furlough. Upon recuperating his energies he joined the Washington county cavalry, and in 1863 was made a lieutenant in this branch of the service. He continued on active duty as a leal and loyal soldier until the close of the war, and as a youthful veteran returned to his home to assume such duties as life presented to him under the changed conditions. He resumed his legal studies and was admitted to the bar of his native state in Sep- tember, 1865. In the following January he removed to Greenville, having formed a professional partnership with the late W. L. Nugent, and this alliance obtained until the removal of Captain Nugent to the city of Jackson, five years later. Shortly afterward the firm of Percy & Yerger was formed, and this continued from 1871 to 1888, in which latter year his honored confrere, Col. W. A. Percy, was called from the scene of life's endeavors. He was succeeded by his son LeRoy, under the firm title of Yerger & Percy. From 1886 to 1890 Captain Yerger represented his district in the State senate, and he served as a member of the State constitutional convention of 1890, contributing materially to the proper shaping of the admirable constitution under which his native State is now governed. For a quarter of a century he was the attorney for the board of Levee Commissioners of Mississippi, and he was long the leading counsel for the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley and the Southern railroads. He served as mayor of Greenville during the troublous reconstruc- tion period, and he ever stood forward as a loyal, progressive and public-spirited citizen. He was a power in politics and was a law- yer of eminent abilities and distinction, his professional abilities and personal integrity having conspired to place him among the most distinguished members of the legal fraternity in the State. He was never ambitious for public office and refused urgent impor- tunities to become a candidate for both branches of the national legislature, preferring to give his attention to the exacting profession for which he had so thoroughly fortified himself and for whose dig- nity and responsibility he ever entertained the deepest appreciation. His political allegiance was given to the Democratic party, he was
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affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the United Confederate Veterans, and was a devoted communicant of the Protestant Epis- copal church, having been senior warden of the parish of St. James church in Greenville at the time of his demise. In December, 1866, was solemnized the marriage of Captain Yerger to Miss Jennie Hun- ter, of Jackson, who survives him, as do also their three children, namely: Mary Louise Wheatley, Jennie Y. Wilson and Wm. Nugent Yerger. In conclusion is entered an excerpt from a newspaper arti- cle published at the time of his death: "In every great emergency he was to the front, maintaining a brave, firm and quiet demeanor. He was a born disciplinarian,-he ruled himself, hence he could rule men. His convictions were clear and he had the courage of them, but while decided in his own views he, with a lofty courtesy, accorded to others the right to think each for himself. He was self-contained and self-reliant, ever setting for others an example of independent manhood. He aimed ever to measure out even justice to all. In his charities there was no advertisement or display, but a dealing out with no grudging hand. To his country he was ever true, to his friends he was loyal, to his family he was devoted and lavish. He was strong, he was firm, he was brave."
Yawn, Henry Clay, who is one of the representative business men and influential citizens of Lumberton, and who has the distinction of being grand master of the grand lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Mississippi, is specially entitled to consideration in this work. He is secretary and treasurer of the R. W. Hinton Company and also the Hinton Brothers Lumber Company, of Lumberton and, as may be inferred from the office of which he is now incum- bent, he is one of the most prominent and appreciative members of the Masonic fraternity in the State. He is a man of forceful individuality, exemplifying to a marked degree the power of in- itiative, and his character has been moulded in the valuable school of experience and has been dominated by sterling integrity of pur- pose in all relations. Mr. Yawn was born at Columbia, Henry county, Ala., July 5, 1859, and is a son of Greenbury and Malinda (Yawn) Yawn. His father, who was a carpenter and blacksmith by vocation, died April 4, 1902, and his mother is still living. She maintains her home in Willsburg, Covington county, Miss., where she lives with her daughter, Mrs. Ida Reils. The subject of this review is the only son in a family of five children, all of whom arc living except Sallie, who died when about ten years of age. When Mr. Yawn was about one year old, in 1860, his parents removed from Henry county, Ala., to Mississippi, where his father became a successful planter and where he also followed his trades to a greater or less extent. Henry C. was reared on the home planta- tion and secured his early educational training in the schools of the locality. In the meanwhile he had developed the habits of industry and consecutive application which have been so important factors in insuring his success in later years. During his schools days he was employed at farm work and blacksmithing during the vaca- tion periods and he remained at the parental home until he had
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attained the age of eighteen years when he entered the high school at Mount Carmel, Miss., where he continued his educational work under favorable auspices for one year. He thereafter was a student in the high school at Columbia for three years, within which he took special courses in mathematics and languages, aside from the regular curriculum. He was graduated in this school as a member of the class of 1886, after which he was a successful and popular teacher in the public schools of the State for several years, having been thus employed for two years each in Columbia, Purvis and Lumberton. Upon retiring from the pedagogic profession, Mr. Yawn accepted the position of bookkeeper and general office man- ager for the Camp & Hinton Company, dealers in general merchan- dise in Lumberton. Two years later he identified himself with the R. W. Hinton Company, of which he has since been secretary and treasurer, and later he became incumbent of a similar dual office with the Hinton Brothers Lumber Company, which position he still retains. Both of these concerns are numbered among the largest of the sort in the south-central part of the State and Mr. Yawn has done much to conserve and forward their interests and advancement. He is known as a progressive business man and able executive and he has ever retained the unqualified confidence and esteem of those with whom he has had business dealings. He is a member of the directorate of the First National bank of Lumber- ton and also of that of the Lumberton Drug Company. He is es- sentially public-spirited in his attitude and his aid and co-operation are assured in the furtherance of measures and enterprises for the general good of the city in which he makes his home and with whose civic and industrial interests he is so prominently identified. He is a stalwart supporter of the principles of the Democratic party and while he has never been ambitious for office, he has served as city treasurer of Lumberton. He and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, and he has been super- intendent of the local Sunday school of his church for the past several years. Mr. Yawn has been identified with the Masonic fraternity since 1886, when he was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason in Olive Branch Lodge, No. 34, of Lumberton. He is a member of the chapter, council and commandery and belongs to the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. His consistory affilia- tion is maintained in the city of Meridian, where he is also a mem- ber of the Homassa Temple, Ancient Arabic Order, Nobles of the Mys- tic Shrine. In February, 1904, he was appointed deputy grand master of the Masonic grand lodge of the State ; in February of the following year he was made junior grand warden; in February, 1906, he was elected senior grand warden; and in 1907, he was advanced to his present high office of grand master of the grand lodge. He is a most enthusiastic and appreciative member of the time-honored fraternity and has been indefatigable in the forwarding of its interests in Mississippi. He is recorder of the subordinate lodge of the Masons' Annuity in Lumberton, and is also State representative of the supreme lodge. His popularity in Masonic circles is of the
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most unequivocal order and he has held the welfare of the fra- ternity closely at heart in all its branches. On Aug. 2, 1893, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Yawn to Miss Frances Leah Lim- baugh, daughter of Joseph and Ann (Huston) Limbaugh, and they have five children, whose names and respective dates of birth are as follows: Gladys, May 8, 1894; Frances Lois, Aug. 22, 1897; Henry Clay, Jr., Dec. 4, 1899; Howard Hinton, Feb. 15, 1901; and Rosalind, Dec. 13, 1904.
Sisson, Thomas Upton, was born Sept. 22, 1869, in Attala county, Miss. He -is the son of C. A. and Pinkie (Miller) Sisson. He moved with his parents when about five years of age to Choctaw county, Miss., and was raised at French Camp, Miss. His grandfather, on his mother's side, was Upton Miller, who in the early history of the State represented Hinds county in the senate, 1840, 1841, 1842, 1843. His great grandfather, Wm. Clark, was a minister of the Christian church, and one of the pioneers: of that church in Missis- sippi, and was at one time State treasurer of Mississippi. His grandfather, T. S. Sisson, was one of the earliest settlers in Choctaw county, coming from Georgia to Mississippi before the Civil war. His father was a Confederate soldier in the Civil war, and served during the whole war as a private. Mr. T. U. Sisson attended the common schools in Choctaw county until the organization of the French Camp acad- emy, where he graduated in the first class of that institution. He won a scholarship in the Southwestern Presbyterian university at Clarksville, Tenn. His father was a man of small means, and it was necessary for him to intersperse a year at work in order that he might attend school the next year. After taking a course at the French academy he borrowed the money and went to the South- western Presbyterian university at Clarksville, Tenn., graduating there in two years, taking the A. B. degree. While at the university he won the debater's medal of one of the literary societies and was awarded a faculty medal: After his graduation he taught school at Carthage, in Leake county, and was principal of the high school there for one year, and the next two years principal of the graded school at Kosciusko, Miss. He then took a law course at the Cum- berland university, at Lebanon, Tenn. After his graduation he was admitted to the bar at Memphis, Tenn., and remained there a year, when he formed a partnership with Hon. W. S. Hill, at Winona, Miss., where he has since lived and practiced law. He was elected State senator from Montgomery and Carroll counties, being nomi- nated as a Democrat without opposition. He was Democratic elector for the State at large in 1900. He was nominated and elected, as a Democrat, district attorney for the Fifth judicial district, carry- ing eight out of the nine counties over one of the ablest men in the
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district. He has also taken an active interest in the affairs of his town, county and State. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, having taken all the degrees, including the Shrine, and was elected grand master of Masons, and was the youngest grand master ever elected in the State. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Woodmen of the World, Knights of Pythias, and of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon,, and belongs to the Protestant Episcopal church. He was married June 5, 1901, to Miss Mamie Purnell, daughter of J. C. and Jennie (Hawkins) Purnell. He is now a prominent candidate for governor of Mississippi, as a Democrat, and is asking the nomination of his party upon the platform which the party has made in the State and nation, and on the great princi- ples of Democratic government as announced and promulgated by Thos. Jefferson, and adhered to by the party from the foundation of the government.
Moore, William Walton, M. D., is one of the prominent and influential citizens and leading physicians and surgeons of Pike county and maintains his home and professional headquarters in the village of Summit. He is an honored veteran of the Confederate service in the war between the States and is a scion of one of the sterling pioneer families of Missis- sippi. Dr. Moore was born in Amite county, this State, Aug. 18, 1839, and is the eldest in the family of two sons and four daughters born to Thomas L. and Elizabeth (Swearingen) Moore, both of whom were likewise natives of Missis-
sippi. Thomas L. Moore was a prominent and extensive planter and was born on the old homestead which continued to be his place of abode throughout his entire life. He died in Amite county in December, 1868, honored by all who knew him and leaving the price- less heritage of a spotless reputation. His father, Samuel Moore, came from South Carolina to Mississippi about 1800 and was one of the early settlers of Amite county, with whose annals the family name has been prominently identified throughout the long intervening years. Elizabeth (Swearingen) Moore survived her husband by several years. Dr. William Walton Moore was reared to maturity on the old home plantation, and his preliminary education was secured in the local schools and under the instruction of his gracious and cultured mother. In his eighteenth year he entered Mississippi college, at Clinton, where he pursued the higher academic studies for two years. In 1859 he was matriculated in the Eclectic medical college at Cincinnati, Ohio, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1861 and from which he received his degree of Doctor of Medicine. Immediately after this he took post-graduate work to the extent of one course of lectures, but before he had established himself definitely in the active work of his profession the Civil war
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was precipitated and he subordinated all personal interests and ambi- tions to go forth in defense of the cause of the Confederacy. In the summer of 1861 Dr. Moore enlisted in Company C, Seventh Mississippi infantry, which became a part of the Army of Tennessee. Concern- ing his military career the following has been written : "He participated in all the engagements in which his command was involved, including the battles of Shiloh, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Fort Craig, Murfreesboro, Franklin and others, and at all times he bore himself in a manner becoming a soldier and gentleman. He officiated most of the time as surgeon and assistant surgeon, and at the battle of Murfreesboro he was left in charge of the wounded, remaining inside of the Federal lines for several months, in the discharge of his duties. He afterward rejoined his regiment, and he surrendered with his command at Jonesboro, North Carolina." The doctor maintains a lively interest in his old comrades in arms and is an appreciative member of the United Confederate Veterans. Soon after the close of the war he was matriculated in the New Orleans School of Medicine in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1866. In April of that year he engaged in the practice of his profession at Sum- mit, Pike county, where he has since been established and where he has attained prestige as one of the most eminent physicians and surgeons in this section of the State. He has continued to be inti- mately and prominently identified with agricultural interests, being the owner of valuable plantations in both Amite and Pike counties and devoting special attention to the raising of high-grade horses and cattle. He was the originator of the South Mississippi Fair Association of Summit, of which he has been president from the start. He was also one of the organizers and principal stockholders of the Summit cotton mills, and is president of the company. He was the principal organizer of the Bank of Summit, of which he has been president from the inception of the enterprise, and he is a stock- holder and director in the First National bank of McComb, Pike county. No citizen has been more influential in conserving the material and civic advancement and upbuilding of Summit, and his public spirit and loyalty have led him to give his aid in support of all measures for the general good of the community. He has been specially conspicuous in connection with establishing and maintaining the fine public-school system of Summit, and as a physician and citizen he commands the most unqualified confidence and esteem. The doctor is a member of various medical associations and is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and Knights of Honor. He is a stalwart suppor- ter of the principles and policies of the Democratic party and has been an effective worker in the party cause. He has been a delegate to both State and county conventions and served as chairman of the Democratic executive committee of Pike county. In September, 1865, Dr. Moore was united in marriage to Miss Ary A. Felder, who was born in Amite county, a daughter of James W. Felder and a granddaughter of Rev. Charles Felder, who was one of the prominent pioneer clergymen of the Baptist church in this section of the State.
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Mrs. Moore is a zealous member of the Baptist church and is prominent in the social life of Summit.
Cameron, John Ruthven, who died at his beautiful plantation homestead, one- fourth of a mile distant from the village of Cameta, Sharkey county, Miss., was one of the most patriotic and distinguished sons of Mississippi, a representative of one of its sterling pioneer families and one who ever upheld the high and patri- cian standard of what has been designated as the "Old South." He lived a life of signal honor and usefulness, held positions of distinctive public trust, and accumu- lated a large estate through his well directed endeavors. On his plantation he main- tained to his death the true patriarchal system of the ante-bellum days, and his circle of friends was limited only by that of his asquaintance. His homestead was in that portion of Madison county which is now included in Sharkey county. Mr. Cameron came of stanch Scottish ancestry in the agnatic line, and the original American representatives, one of whom was his grand- father, were five brothers who immigrated from Scotland in 1776 and settled in South Carolina, whence they came to Mississippi in 1780. All became extensive planters and slave-owners in this State. The grandfather of the subject of this memoir was Daniel Cameron, who accumulated a large landed property in Jefferson county, where was born his son Malcom, in 1812. Malcom Cameron, a worthy scion of the sturdy old Scottish clan, was the father of him whose name initiates this sketch. He was reared to maturity in his native county and received the advantages of Oakland college. About 1830 he removed to Madison county, where he developed an extensive plantation and where he passed the residue of his life, honored by all who knew him. His first wife, whose maiden name was Tennessee Penquite, was a native of Mississippi and was a daughter of Dr. Abra- ham Penquite, one of the distinguished pioneer physicians of the State and one who accumulated a large fortune: he was born in Virginia, a representative of one of the prominent families of the Old Dominion. Mrs. Cameron died in 1844, and the two children died in childhood. Malcom Cameron later married Miss Mary Matilda Montgomery, daughter of Eli T. Montgomery, a member of one of the oldest and most prominent families of the State. The only child of this marriage. was John Ruthven Cameron, subject of this review. He was born on the homestead plantation, in what is now Sharkey county, July 3, 1846, and after attending the schools of his native county he entered a military academy at Nashville, Tenn. The Civil war was in progress at the time and his loyalty to the cause of the Confederacy caused him to withdraw from this institution six months later. Though only sixteen years of age at the time, in 1862, he returned home and was shortly afterward married. In the spring of 1863 he organized
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a company for the Confederate service, was commissioned captain of the same and remained its commander until the close of the war. After the war he began improving land on Deer creek, and though he inherited a large landed estate at the time of his father's death, in 1873, he largely increased it and at the time of his demise was the owner of more than 10,000 acres, in Madison and Sharkey counties. From a review of his life published several years prior to his death the following pertinent extracts are made: "In 1877 he was elected to represent Madison county in the State legislature and received every vote polled. He served his term out, was not again a candidate for office until 1887, when he was elected to the State senate, in which he served two terms. In 1889 he was a candidate for governor of Mississippi before the Democratic party and made a strong and credit- able race. Though defeated, no man in the State stands higher in public esteem than John R. Cameron. He is a patriot and statesman of whom the people may well feel proud. He is essentially a Missis- sippian and nothing that affects the State that does not affect him. He is bound by the strongest ties to his State, county and people. His greatest desire is to have a typical southern home, and he takes great pleasure in beautifying his place. Many of his father's slaves are still with him and are devoted to him. As a host he is unexcelled, and in the full sense of the term, he is a southern gentleman. He is one of the noblest men of the south, is kind and generous to all and has made his life count for good in all its relations." In politics Mr. Cameron was reared in the faith of the old-line Whig party, but after the Civil war he was found enrolled as an uncompromising advo- cate of the principles of the Democratic party. He was a consistent and zealous member of the Presbyterian church, was a Knight Tem- plar Mason and was affiliated with the United Confederate Veterans. In 1862 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Cameron to Miss Virginia Chick, who was born and reared in Mississippi, being a daughter of Richard A. and Jane (Davis) Chick, the former of whom was born in Virginia and the latter in Mississippi. Mr. Chick came to Madison county in the pioneer days and acquired a large plantation adjoining the Cameron homestead: here both he and his wife passed the remain- der of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Cameron became the parents of four children: Lillian, who became the wife of Dr. Staples, died in Texas, in 1883; Malcomb, Virgie and Abraham still remain on the old homestead. Mrs. Cameron still survives her honored husband and resides on the home plantation, which is endeared to her by the hallowed memories and associations of the past.
Shoemaker, Charles A., general manager of the general mer- chandise business of the corporation of Kennedy & Company at Wig- gins, Harrison county, is a stockholder in the concern, which operates a series of such mercantile establishments in south Mis- sissippi, with headquarters in Hattiesburg. Mr. Shoemaker was born at Bladen Springs, Choctaw county, Ala., May 17, 1875, and that state was likewise the birthplace of his parents, Taylor and Alice Love (Corley) Shoemaker, who removed to Clarke county, Miss., in 1880, when he was about five years of age. 'Mr. Shoemaker was reared
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in Clarke county and after leaving the public schools continued his studies in Mississippi college, at Clinton, after which he was for two years successfully engaged in teaching in the public schools. In 1896 he became identified with merchandising, entering the employ of M. H. Turner & Company, of Vosburg, Jasper county, and he thereafter passed four years as a valued salesman in the general store of Perkins & Company, at Brooklyn, Perry county, whence he removed to.Wiggins in 1901, to take the position which he now holds, that of manager of the local interests of Kennedy & Company. The store here is well equipped, is operated on the department plan and has secured a large and desirable trade, derived from the prosperous section of country normally tributary to the thriving town. Mr. Shoemaker, as before stated, is a stockholder in the concern, which also gives attention to the manufacturing of turpentine and to the buying and selling of Mississippi timber lands. Mr. Shoemaker is a member of the board of directors of the People's bank, of Wiggins, is treasurer of the Wiggins Electric Light Company, is a-stockholder in the Citizens' bank of Hattiesburg and is considerably interested in real estate, being one of the popular and progressive young business men of Harrison county. He supports the cause of the Democratic party, and his religious faith is that of the Baptist church.
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