USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III > Part 17
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who was a resident of Georgia, and the children of this union are : Irma W., George W., Emmet Mckenzie, and Seth W., Jr.
Collum, Reber, planter, hotel proprietor and liveryman of Hollandale, was born in Rankin county, Miss., Oct. 6, 1854. His parents were Absalom and Mary Jane (Holmes) Collum, the former a native of South Carolina and the latter of Rankin county, Miss. Absalom Collum was a planter who enlisted and served in the Mexican war and died in Madison county, Miss., in the sixty-fourth year of his age. The wife also passed away in Madison county when she was fifty-six years old. There were three children in the family : Reber; Ezra, who died when forty-four fancy. years old; and Jackson, who died in in- Reber Collum received a common school education in the schools of Madison county. He had planned to go to college but the war interfered. Since he was fifteen years of age he has never missed a crop. In addition to the work of managing his big farm he is proprietor of the largest hotel in Hollandale, in connection with which he has a finely equipped livery stable. Politically he is a Democrat, but has never held office. His church affiliations, like those of his wife, are with the Baptist society. On Jan. 2, 1876, he married Malvinor, daughter of Alfred and Elizabeth (Prance) Ferguson, of Washington county, Miss., and to that marriage seven children have been born: Clara, deceased; Effie, deceased ; Everett, deceased; Minnie, and Audrey, living at home; Reber Leroy, deceased, and one died in infancy unnamed. Mr. Collum is a member of the Thomas Gaddice Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Hollandale, and of the Knights of Honor.
Collier, Jesse G., one of the leading merchants of Shaw, was born in Carroll county, Miss., Dec. 25, 1855. His parents were Will- iam G. and Nancy E. (Ellison) Collier, the former a native of Nash- ville, Tenn., and the latter of Vicksburg, Miss. Jesse G. Collier received his education in the common schools of Carroll county. For a number of years he was engaged as a clerk in different stores and in 1890 he engaged in planting near Faisonia, Sunflower county, and continued successfully in this business until 1894, when he accepted a position as clerk in the general store of G. W. Faison & Sons, in Shaw. After two years he returned to planting, continu- ing at it until he started in the lumber business in Shaw in 1903. He recently merged his business with that of the Shaw Hardware Company, and is personally connected with the Shaw Cotton Oil Company. He has been most eminently successful in all of his business ventures and is recognized as one of the men whose busi- ness sagacity has given Shaw its high standing in the business world. Politically Mr. Collier is a Democrat and as such has served on the board of county supervisors, has been mayor of Shaw and
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is the incumbent of the office of tax collector. He worships with the congregation of the Shaw Methodist Episcopal church, South. Fraternally he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Honor. Mr. Collier has been married twice. His first marriage occurred on Nov. 18, 1880, to Miss Eugenia Dent, daughter of Capt. B. F. Dent of Sunflower county, Miss. One child was born to this union, Edward E., now deceased. Mrs. Collier died in March, 1893. On Dec. 18, 1896, Mr. Collier married Miss Elizabeth A. Walker, daughter of Dr. G. C. Walker of Sunflower county, Miss. Five children have blessed this union, two of whom are living-Valley and Chambless.
Collier, Stanford Newman, of Vicksburg, is not only one of the representative younger members of the bar of Warren county, but is also incumbent of the office of county superintendent of public ยท education, in which capacity he is giving most effective and ac- ceptable service. He was born in Warren county, Miss., Aug. 17, 1876, being a son of John Marshall Collier and Sarah (Newman) Collier, the ancestry in the paternal line tracing back to English origin and in the maternal line to Scottish derivation ; both families were founded in Virginia in the colonial era of our national history, and it is a matter of record that one of the maternal ancestors, John McKinley, served as captain in the Continental line in the War of the Revolution. John M. Collier was a valiant soldier of the Confederacy in the war between the States, having served in the army of Northern Virginia, as a member of Company A, Twenty-first Mississippi infantry. He is a planter by vocation and both he and his wife still continue resident of Warren county. After due preparatory discipline in the schools of his native county, Stanford N. Collier was matriculated in the University of Missis- sippi, in which he remained a student for three years in the academic department, after which he completed the course in the law depart- ment, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1897, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He took freshman and sophomore medals in the university and took a deep interest in athletic affairs in the institution, having been captain of the football team. After his graduation he took up his residence in Vicksburg and engaged in the practice of his profession, in which he has met with marked success, his labors in the law showing a distinctively cumulative tendency. In 1898 Mr. Collier set aside his professional work to tender his services as a soldier in the Spanish-American war, becoming a member of the First Mississippi volunteers and being mustered into the United States service at Jackson, this State, when he proceeded with his command to the reserve camp at Chick- amauga, where the regiment remained until September and from there proceeded to Lauderdale Springs, Miss., where they remained ten days and from there sent to Columbia, Tenn., where they were mustered out Dec. 28, 1898, the regiment not having been called into active service. In politics he is a stalwart adherent of the Democratic party, in whose cause he has rendered timely and able
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service, and Nov. 3, 1903, he was elected to represent his native county in the State legislature, resigning this office April 1, 1904, to assume the duties of that of county superintendent of public instruction for Warren county, to which he had been appointed on the same date. He has done much to unify and systematize the educational work in the county and his labors have not lacked popular appreciation and commendation. He is a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal church and is affiliated with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, Woodmen of the World and Im- proved Order of Red men, also holding membership in the Missis- sippi bar association.
Conner, Edgar Earl, is one of the rep- resentative young business men of Hat- tiesburg, Perry county, where he is vice- president and general manager of the Conner Shoe Company, of which his father is president. He is a native of Mississippi, having been born in Perkins- ville, Winston county, Feb. 26, 1883, and being a son of Walter M. Conner, of whom individual mention is made in a following paragraph. Mr. Conner was afforded the advantages of the graded schools of Hattiesburg, Perry county, and then entered the University of Missis- sippi, in which he was a member of the class of 1904. He became associated with his father in the pur- chase of the finely equipped shoe store of T. S. Jackson, in Hatties- burg, the enterprise having previously been conducted under the title of the Jackson Shoe Company. A short time after the busi- ness was transferred to the present owners, the title of the Conner Shoe Company was adopted, Walter M. Conner becoming president and Edgar E. Conner vice-president and general manager. The establishment is recognized as the most metropolitan of the sort in Hattiesburg, being modern in all details of appointment and show- ing at all times the most select and complete lines of shoes. The vice-president of the company has charge of the store and business and is one of the alert and progressive young men of the city, where he is distinctively popular in both business and social circles. He is one of the active and enthusiastic members of the Merchants' Business League of Hattiesburg, his religious faith is that of the Baptist church, and fraternally he is identified with Hattiesburg Lodge, No. 397, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and Kappa Alpha college fraternity. His political support is given to the Democratic party. On Sept. 27, 1904, Mr. Conner was united in marriage to Miss Augusta Montgomery, daughter of Col. John B. and Sarah Jane (Bailey) Montgomery, of Louisville, Ky., and they are prominent and popular in connection with the social activities of their home city. Mr. and Mrs. E. E. Conner have a son, born July 21, 1906, Dudley Winston Conner.
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Conner, Walter Morland, president of the Conner Shoe Company, of Hatties- burg, of the Columbia Compress Com- pany, at Columbia, Miss., and interested in other enterprises of distinctive im- portance, has accomplished much in con- nection with the development of the industrial and commercial interests of southern Mississippi and is specially en- - titled to representation in this work. He now maintains his home in Hattiesburg, Perry county. Mr. Conner was born near Kosciusko, Attala county, Miss., Oct. 9, 1855, and is a son of John Lewis Conner, who was born in Pickens county, Ala., W. M. CONNER AND DAUGH- TER, LEAH BETH. Dec. 28, 1825, and of Dolice Minerva (Murff) Conner, who was born in Win- ston county, Miss., Oct. 10, 1833, being a daughter of Col. Samuel D. and Sarah (George) Murff. John L. Conner and Dolice M. Murff were married Oct. 23, 1851, at Kosciusko, Miss., and they became the parents of twelve children. Mr. Conner served through- out the Civil war as a valiant soldier of the Confederacy. In 1861 he enlisted as a member of Company D, Thirty-fifth Mississippi infantry, being made third lieutenant at time of enlistment and immediately afterward being promoted first lieutenant. He was soon promoted captain of his company and was tendered the colonelcy of his regiment but refused the commission, by reason of his affection for and deep interest in the members of his own company. He participated in the battles of Franklin and Nashville, Tenn .; Corinth and Vicksburg, Miss .; Lookout Mountain, Chicka- mauga, Bull Run, Manassas, Gettysburg and many other battles and skirmishes, having continued in active service until the close of the war and having made a particularly gallant record. He was a planter by vocation and was twice elected sheriff of Winston county. He was a member of Lodge No. 75, Free and Accepted Masons, at Louisville, Miss., at the time of his death, Feb. 2, 1876, and was interred with Masonic honors in the old family cemetery in Winston county. The subject of this review was educated in the schools of Mississippi and his earlier business career was iden- tified with agricultural pursuits and later engaging in the general merchandise business. He is president of the Columbia Compress Company, at Columbia, Miss .; has been a director in the National Bank of Commerce at Hattiesburg, Miss., from the time of its organization to the present and has for years held the office of auditor for this substantial institution ; he is a member of the firm of O. W. Conner & Company and of the Conner Brothers Lumber Company, of Seminary, Miss .; is president of the Conner Shoe Company, at Hattiesburg, and in this thriving city he has also been continuously engaged in the general merchandise business for nearly a quarter of a century, having located there in 1884. He is
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essentially enterprising and public-spirited and has ever done his part in furthering those undertakings and supporting those measures which make for the material and civic advancement of the com- munity at large. In politics he is one of the ardent supporters of the Democratic party and its principles and while he has never been ambitious for public office he served two terms as mayor of Hattiesburg. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church, and he has served eighteen years as superintendent of the Sunday school of the First Baptist church of Hattiesburg. Mr. Conner is one of the prominent and appreciative members of the Masonic fraternity in Mississippi, taking a deep interest in this time-honored order. He is affiliated with Hattiesburg Lodge, No. 397, Free and Accepted Masons; Hattiesburg Chapter, No. 114, Royal Arch Masons ; Liberty Council, No. 7, Royal and Select Masters ; Hatties- burg Commandery, No. 21, Knights Templars; and Harnassa Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Meridian, Miss. He is master of his lodge at the present time, high priest of his chapter, thrice illustrious master of his council, and past deputy grand master of the Masonic grand lodge of Mis- sissippi. He has served fourteen years as worshipful master of his lodge and he has been prominent in the fraternity for eighteen years, always attending the sessions of the grand lodge of the State and showing an abiding interest in all that concerns the fraternity. On June 7, 1882, Mr. Conner was united in marriage to Miss Deania L. Sennette, who was born at Brownsburg, Ind., fourteen miles west of the city of Indianapolis, being a daughter of Martin P. and Frances (Downing) Sennette, who removed to Indiana from Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. Conner became the parents of seven children, namely: Edgar Earl, Clyde Raymond, Walter Marcus, Robert Cassidy, Leonidas Hall, Frankie Dean, and Leah Beth. Of the children three are deceased-Walter M., Robert C. and Frankie D.
Conner, Lemuel Parker, is one of the able and honored repre- sentatives of the legal profession in the city of Natchez, where he controls a large and important practice. Mr. Conner was born in the city which is now his home and the date of his nativity was Nov. 28, 1861. He is a son of Lemuel Parker Conner and Fanny Eliza (Turner) Conner, both native of Adams county, Miss., where the former was born in 1827 and the latter in 1829. Representatives of the Conner family were found enrolled as valiant soldiers in the Continental line in the War of the Revolution. Hon. Edward Turner, maternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a prominent and influential citizen of Mississippi and served in various public offices, including that of chancellor of the State. The early educational training of Mr. Conner was secured in the common schools and under the direction of private tutors, after which he continued his studies in turn in Louisiana State university and the Agricultural and Mechanical College, at Baton Rouge, that State. He was graduated in the latter institution as a member of the class of 1882. He then entered the law school of the University
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of Louisiana (now Tulane university), in the city of New Orleans, where he admirably fortified himself for the work of his chosen profession. He was admitted to the bar of Louisiana in 1884 and to that of Mississippi in 1888, in which latter year he located in Natchez, where he has since been engaged in the active and suc- cessful practice of his profession. Mr. Conner is a stalwart sup- porter of the principles and policies of the Democratic party but he has never sought or held political office. He has been a mem- ber of various party committees and was one of the originators of the movement to eliminate the negro vote in the city of Natchez, where the negro had continued to participate in the elections after having been shut out of those of the State and county, by the con- stitution of 1890. He organized and served for several years as a member of the city executive committee, and he held this position until the new order of things had crystallized into custom. Mr. Conner is a member of the Masonic fraternity and its adjunct or- ganization, the Mystic Shrine, and is also affiliated with the Benev- olent and Protective Order of Elks. He is identified with the. Natchez Promotive League. On Dec. 12, 1888, Mr. Conner was united in marriage to Miss Mary M. Britton, daughter of Audley Clarke Britton and Eliza (McCrery) Britton, of Natchez. Mr. and Mrs. Conner have four children, whose names, with respective dates of birth, are as follows: Audley Britton, Jan. 22, 1890; Lemuel Parker, Jr., July 12, 1894; Eliza McCrery, Sept. 7, 1896; Gaillard Gustine, April 21, 1902.
Cook, Isham Henry Clayton, M. D., of Hattiesburg, is numbered among the leading members of the medical profes- sion in Perry county and is properly accorded recognition in this compilation. He was born in Paulding, Jasper county, Miss., July 31, 1853, and is a son of Joseph and Mary Ann B. (Clayton) Cook, the former of whom was born in Edge- field district, S. C., in 1818, while the latter was born and reared in Mississippi, being a member of one of its sterling pioneer families. Frederick Cook, grand- father of the doctor, came to America as a member of the Hessian troops which were brought to America by the British to assist in the War of the Revolution, and he was captured at the battle of Ticonderoga. He received a land grant from King George III, and after the war he settled in South Carolina, where he passed the remainder of his life, attaining the venerable age of ninety-six years. Joseph Cook became a member of a regiment of Mississippi cavalry at the time of the Civil war and was a loyal upholder of the cause of the Con- federacy during the long and sanguinary struggle which brought defeat to the southern armies. He enlisted as a private and rose to the rank of colonel, while his service was principally in the line
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of skirmishing in Mississippi and Louisiana, and in the arresting of renegades and deserters. He passed the closing years of his life at the old homestead, where the mother is now living, honored by all who knew them. Dr. Cook secured his rudimentary educational training in a private school and thereafter was a student for one year in the University of Mississippi, while in 1875 he was grad- uated in the Louisville medical college, from which excellent insti- tution he received his degree of Doctor of Medicine. He has ever continued a close and appreciative student of his profession, and in 1893 he took a most effective post-graduate course in the New York Polyclinic. He initiated the practice of his profession in Jasper county, where he remained until 1882, when he removed to Perry county, locating first in Augusta, where he remained in practice until his removal to Hattiesburg, in 1897. He has here built up a large and profitable professional business and is a physician and surgeon of advanced knowledge and marked skill, while as a citi- zen he commands unqualified confidence and esteem. In addition to being enrolled as a member of the State medical society and that of Perry county, he is also a member of the American medical asso- ciation, taking a deep interest in the work of all. He served four years as health officer of Perry county, having been elected on the ticket of his party, the Democratic, of whose principles and policies he is a firm supporter and advocate. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Woodmen of the World. On Dec. 20, 1877, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Cook to Miss Sarah A. Stevens, daughter of Capt. Benjamin and Annetta (Brealand) Stevens, of Augusta, Miss. The children of this union are ten in number, namely : Joseph Benjamin, William Felder, Evlyn Stevens, Mary Clayton, Emily Annette, Susan Elizabeth, Isham Inman, Cora Lillian, Elise and Henry Grady.
Cook, Sam C., of Clarksdale, the able and popular judge of the circuit court of the eleventh district and recognized as one of the leading members of the bar of Coahoma county, was born in Ox- ford, Lafayette county, Miss., July 13, 1855, and is a son of Milas J. and Martha (Bumpass) Cook, both natives of North Carolina. Judge Cook was graduated in the law department of the University of Mississippi as a member of the class of 1878, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws and being duly admitted to the bar of his native State. He began the practice of his profession in Holmes county, where he remained about one year, having removed to Batesville, Panola county, in 1880, and having there been successfully estab- lished in the practice of law until 1888, when he located in Clarks- dale, where he soon built up a large and representative professional business. In 1886 he represented Panola county in the State legis- lature, and in 1890, 1892 and 1894 he represented Coahoma county in the same body, proving an able and active member of the legis- lative body. Judge Cook held the position of attorney for the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Levee Board from 1900 to 1902 and was chairman of the judiciary committee of the house, sessions 1892 and 1894. In 1902 he was appointed to the bench of the circuit court of the
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eleventh judicial district, and he has since served in this capacity, being reappointed in 1906, gaining uniform commendation for his careful and discriminating discharge of his judicial duties. Few of his opinions or decisions have been reversed and he shows the true judicial acumen, fortified by broad and exact knowledge of the law. He is a stanch supporter of the principles and policies of the Democratic party, and both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, South. On Oct. 25, 1882, was solem- nized the marriage of Judge Cook to Miss Elizabeth Murphy, daughter of Dr. Charles T. and Ann Eliza (Harrington) Murphy, of Durant, Holmes county, and the four children of this union are : Charles, Edwin, Marjorie and Sam, Jr.
Cox, Joshua P., senior member of the well known firm of J. P. Cox & Son, of Braxton, is one of the prominent and in- fluential citizens of Simpson county, where he had varied and important in- terests, and he is also a veteran soldier of the Confederacy, in whose cause he rendered faithful and valiant service. Mr. Cox was born in Greene county, Ala., Feb. 4, 1844, and is a son of Charles and Jane (Thurman) Cox, the former of whom was born in Greensboro, N. C., while the latter was born in Hale county, Ala. From the latter State they came to Mississippi in 1852, settling near Brandon, Rankin county, where the father became a substantial planter. Joshua P. Cox was about eight years of age at the time of his parents' removal from Alabama to Mississippi, in which latter State he completed his early educational training in the common schools, in the meanwhile assisting in the operation of the home plantation. In 1861 he took up arms in defense of the Confederacy, enlisting as a member of Company I, Sixth Mississippi infantry, with which he participated in a number of the most important battles of the great internecine conflict, including those of Shiloh, Franklin, Nashville, Baker's Creek, Kenesaw Mountain, Jackson, Miss., Corinth, and skirmishes around Atlanta, after which he was with the command of General Hood in the march through Georgia and North Carolina, taking part in every engagement in which his regi- ment served, but was never wounded. He was mustered out at Greensboro, N. C., which town was the place of his father's birth, as has been noted above. After the close of his military service Mr. Cox returned to Rankin county, where he was engaged in farm- ing for the ensuing ten years, having removed to Simpson county in 1875. Here he continued in the same line of industrial enterprise, and in 1882 he expanded the scope of his operations by establishing a general store near the site of the present town of Braxton, build- ing up a good trade. When the Gulf & Ship Island railroad was com- pleted to Braxton, in 1900, he removed his mercantile business to
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the new town, and here he controls a trade which extends through- out a wide radius of country. His elder son is associated with him in the business, under the title of J. P. Cox & Son, and they have a branch store at Pinola, this county. The firm handles large amounts of cotton each year and their business enterprise is one of the most important of the sort in the county. The building occupied in Braxton was erected by Mr. Cox and is one of the largest and best business structures in the thriving little city with whose business and civic interests he is so intimately and prominently concerned. He is a member of the directorate of the Braxton bank, of which he was one of the organizers, and his elder son, Dobson C., is vice- president of the institution. Mr. Cox is also a director of the Mount Olive Compress Company. He is a stalwart adherent of the Democratic party, is a member of the Woodmen of the World and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Baptist church. On Feb. 2, 1871, Mr. Cox was united in marriage to Miss Lou Hill, daughter of Woodin Hill, a prominent citizen of Pelahatchee, Rankin county, and they have five children: Dobson C., Virgie Belle, Ernest, Gertrude and Gabrella. Two children-Lillie Lee and Cornelia May-died in infancy.
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