Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III, Part 18

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 18

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Corley, William Urbin, of Collins, Covington county, is a native of Mississippi and one of the representative members of its bar in his section. He was born and reared in Rankin county, Miss., the date of his birth having been Oct. 18, 1876. He is a son of William Wallace Corley and Josephine (Williamson) Corley, the former of whom was born in Rankin county and the latter in Simpson county, Miss., while they now reside in Rankin county. In well conducted private schools William U. Corley secured his earlier educational training, and as a youth he engaged in agri- cultural pursuits, through which means he secured the funds which enabled him to realize his ambition and complete his work of preparation for the legal profession. He was matriculated in the law department of Millsaps college, in the city of Jackson, Miss., in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1898, receiv- ing his coveted degree of Bachelor of Laws. In the same year he engaged in the practice of his profession in Covington county, hav- ing been located in Williamsburg until the founding of the new town of Collins, in 1900, when he removed to this place, where he is building up an excellent practice and gaining recognition as a well equipped attorney and counselor, and being one of the leading representatives of his profession in Covington county. In politics he is a stanch advocate of the principles and policies of the Democratic party, and in a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of Masons. On Feb. 25, 1900, Mr. Corley was united in marriage to Miss Nonie Price, daughter of Wilson B. and Janie (Byrd) Price, of Rankin county, and two sons have been born of this union, Edward and Winston.

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Cowan, J. B., of Vicksburg, Miss., was born in Vicksburg, Dec. 1, 1860; son of James J. Cowan and Maria L. (Craig) Cowan. His father is a native of Warren county, Miss., and his mother of Florence, Ala. John Cowan, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, came from North Carolina to Vicksburg and was a planter and large slave holder. His father was a soldier in the Confederate army; he or- ganized and was captain of Cowan's battery ; was captured and imprisoned on Ship Island for a short time. After the war he engaged in cotton buying and was president of the Planters' com- press association, and of the Cotton exchange, both of which he organized. He died in 1898. Mr. Cowan was educated in Vicksburg, and in the University of Tennessee. He was engaged in cotton buying with his father, whom he succeeded in business, and was director of the Cotton exchange of which he has twice been president, director of the Merchants' compress, and director of the American National bank and the Vicksburg Savings bank. He was active in the support of the citizens' ticket during the municipal election of 1904; is a member of the Presbyterian church and of the fraternal orders of Elks and Knights of Pythias. On Oct. 21, 1896, Mr. Cowan was married to Miss Sadie Van Lear of Staunton, Va., and they have two children, John and Van Lear.

Cox, Walter Alfred, of Gulfport, is one of the prominent and progressive real estate dealers of Harrison county, and his operations have had marked influence in furthering the development and sub- stantial upbuilding of this section of the State. He is a native of Harrison county, where he was born Nov. 14, 1874, being a son of Eli B. and Almeda (O'Neal) Cox, the former of whom was born in Georgia and the latter in Harrison county, Miss., while they are now resident of Mississippi, where the father is engaged in farming. After leaving the public schools Walter A. Cox completed an ef- fective course of study in the commercial department of the Gulf Coast college, at Handsboro, Harrison county. Shortly after leav- ing school he became bookkeeper in a mercantile establishment at Wool Market, this county, where he continued to reside until coming to Gulfport, in 1903. While Mr. Cox does business in Gulfport, he is a resident of Wool Market, where he has served seven years as postmaster of the town and is numbered among the prominent young business men of the place. Upon locating in Gulfport, Mr.

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Cox established himself in the real estate business, in which he has since continued, directing his efforts along legitimate lines and bringing to bear that energy and discrimination whose natural con- comitant is definite success. He owns or controls about 200,000 acres of valuable pine and hardwood timber land in this State, and in a more local way he devotes special attention to the handling of city properties, including residence sites along the beach and de- sirable city and suburban lots. He is a stalwart adherent of the principles of the Democracy and fraternally is identified with the Improved Order of Red Men, and the Knights of Pythias. On Aug. 10, 1898, Mr. Cox was united in marriage to Miss Clara Stiglets, daughter of Capt. Joseph M. and Melissa (Stewart) Stiglets, of Wool Market, that county, and four children are the offspring of this union-Beatrice, Marion Palmer, Juanita Pearl (deceased) and an infant daughter, unnamed.

Crawford, John Harmon, the present sheriff of Jones county, has passed his entire life in that county, and that he has so ordered his course as to retain the con- fidence and regard of those who know him best, is shown in the official prefer- ment which has come to him. He was born on the homestead plantation in Jones county, Nov. 15, 1860, and is a son of Dr. Thomas G. and Eliza (Hathorn) Crawford, the former of whom was born in Talladega, Ala., and the latter in Cov- ington county, Miss. Dr. Crawford was a prominent physician of Jones county, where he was actively engaged in the practice of his profession for many years, while he served with utmost loyalty as a member of the Thirty-sixth Mississippi infantry during the Civil war, having taken part in the siege of Vicksburg and in many skirmishes, and having been second lieutenant of his company at the time of the close of the war. His father, Benjamin H. Crawford was a soldier in the Mexican war. John H. Crawford was afforded the advantages of the public schools of Jones county and after attaining to years of maturity he was actively engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1895, when he was elected county surveyor, remaining in tenure of this office for a period of five years and rendering most effective service. In November of 1903 he was elected sheriff of his native county, for a term of four years, and he is giving a most incisive and satisfactory administration, meriting the commendation of all worthy citizens. In a fraternal way he is a Royal Arch Mason, and both he and his wife are prom- inent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, while his unequivocal allegiance is given to the Democratic party. On Dec. 6, 1887, Mr. Crawford was united in marriage to Miss Isabella Huff, daughter of Thomas G. and Mary E. (Staham) Huff, of Smith county, Miss., and the names of the children are here entered in the

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order of their birth : Ethel, Edith, Maggie, Talmage, Ruby, Dailey, Thomas G. and John H.

Crawford Grocery Company. The city of Greenville, Washington county, stands as one of the most progressive and attractive munici- palities of the State of Mississippi, and is situated in the prolific delta district of the Yazoo river country, so that it has great natural advantages as a commercial and general distributing center. In the city are to be found substantial and well conducted mercantile enterprises of wide scope and importance, and among those which are affording new prestige to the place is the concern whose name initiates this paragraph. The Crawford Grocery Company does a general wholesale trade in groceries and provisions and its opera- tions are based on ample capital and thorough business experience. The company was incorporated under the laws of the State on March 9, 1903, and on June 1, following, active business operations were instituted, the traveling salesmen of the company going forth in their assigned territories with confidence in the representations of their house and knowing that its facilities were of the best order throughout. Within the intervening time the business has grown rapidly and the house has a firm hold upon the best class of patron- age throughout the delta territory, while its trade is gradually extending into Arkansas and Louisiana. The company has two large and well stocked warehouses, one being 75x100 feet in dimen- sions and the other 75x150 feet, while the finely appointed general office is located on Poplar street. The officers of the company are as follows: J. A. Crawford, president ; Morris Rosenstock, vice- president ; W. D. Robertshaw, secretary and treasurer ; J. M. Robert- shaw, manager.

Crawford, Van Leroy, of Meridian, vice-president and general manager of A. H. George & Company, brokers of cottonseed-oil products, is a native of the fine old city of Atlanta, Ga., where he was born July 5, 1875, being a son of Van B. and Fannie Louise Crawford, both of whom were likewise born and reared in Georgia. In his earlier career the father was engaged in the mercantile busi- ness in Georgia, whence he eventually removed to Knoxville, Tenn., where he continued to reside until his death, in 1893, while his widow now makes her home in Meridian, Miss. Van Leroy Craw- ford secured his educational discipline in the schools of his native city, and as a youth he entered the employ of the old Richmond & Danville railroad, in the Atlanta office, while later he held a clerical position with the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia railroad, at Knoxville, Tenn., after which he was with the Southern railroad until 1895, when he came to Meridian, Miss., and entered the employ of the Mississippi Cotton Oil Company, with which he remained eight years, within which time he had been promoted from time to time until he became assistant to the vice-president of the company, resigning this position in the summer of 1904, when he became iden- tified with his present line of enterprise, as a broker of cottonseed- oil products exclusively, and the concern in which he is an inter- ested principal has built up a substantial and representative busi-

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ness, which is constantly expanding. In addition to being vice- president of the company, Mr. Crawford is also the general manager, having active superintendency of the entire business. A Democrat in his political proclivities, he takes a loyal interest in the promotion of the cause but has never sought official preferment. He and his wife are members of the First Baptist church of Meridian, and he is affiliated with the Knights of the Maccabees and the Woodmen of the World. On Dec. 31, 1902, the closing day of the year, witnessed the marriage of Mr. Crawford to Miss Mamie Stuart Malone, daughter of Robert H. Malone, of Barton, Ga., and they have a winsome little daughter, Vanita Louise.

Critz, Frank A., of West Point, Miss., is an able and distinguished lawyer and has not only contributed materially to the high standard of the Mississippi bar, but has been a prominent figure in the public affairs of the State. He was born in Talladega county, Ala., June 19, 1846. His father, Archelaus Hughes Critz, a farmer, was born in Patrick county, Va., in 1806. The mother of Judge Critz, be- fore her marriage, was Lavinia Stovall Penn and was born in Patrick county, Va., in 1812. She and her husband lived in that county until after their marriage. Haman Critz, paternal grandfather of Judge Critz, was a colonel in the Colonial service in the War of the Revolution. He was a native of Germany, and his wife, whose maiden name was Nancy Dalton, was born in Rockingham county, N. C., about 1763. She died in Patrick county, Va., at the age of ninety-six years. She was a daughter of Samuel Dalton, who was a son of Samuel Dalton, who accumulated a magnificent landed estate in Rockingham county, N. C., and lived thereon to the patri- archal age of 106 years. He was born about 1700. The Daltons were of English ancestry and representatives of the family are said to have accompanied William the Conqueror from Normandy to England. The original name was De Alton. The maternal grand- father of Judge Critz was James Penn, of Patrick county, Va., and his maternal grandmother was Miss Leath. James Penn was a son of Col. Abram Penn, who commanded a regiment in the Revo- lutionary war. James Penn's mother, before her marriage, was Ruth Stovall, daughter of Thomas Stovall. Col. Abram Penn and Col. Haman Critz were both in the battle of Yorktown and wit- nessed the surrender of Lord Cornwallis. Colonel Penn was born in Amherst county, Va., whence he removed to Patrick county, where he made his home for the balance of his life. He was a son . of Moses Penn, who was a brother of John Penn, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and they were related to Will- iam Penn, the Quaker. The wife of Moses Penn, before her mar- riage, was Katherine Taylor, who was the sister of Pres. Zachary

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Taylor's father, and hence Col. Abram Penn was second cousin of President Taylor. Archelaus Hughes Critz, the father of Judge Critz, removed with his wife and two children from Virginia to Alabama in 1832 and there settled upon the plantation where the subject of this sketch was born. In 1853, when Judge Critz was seven years old, his father, with his family, moved from Talladega county, Ala., to Oktibbeha county, Miss., and settled on a farm four miles west of Starkville, where he continued his occupation as a farmer, and he and his wife made their home in that county up to their deaths. The Critz family has been notable for longevity and for impregnable integrity. Its representatives in the various gen- erations have played well their parts in life as thrifty, upright and useful citizens. And the same can be said of the Daltons and the Penns, except that the Penns were not so long-lived. It is worthy of special mention that Judge Critz is the seventh son of a family of twelve children and that the same fact is true concerning his father and his maternal grandfather. Judge Critz was reared on the homestead plantation in Oktibbeha county, Miss., and by as- siduous study at home he prepared himself for admission to the junior class of the University of Mississippi, in 1867, having labored upon the farm for the means with which to pay his way. He was graduated in that institution in 1869, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In 1869-70 he was engaged in school teaching at the Stark- ville male academy. At the same time he studied law, without preceptor or instructor of any kind. His power of absorption and assimilation enabled him to make rapid progress in the accumula- tion of legal lore, and in 1870 he was licensed at Starkville to prac- tice law. He entered the university in his twenty-second year, after the full experience and training of a Confederate soldier. He first enlisted when sixteen years of age. In 1863 he became a private in Company I, Sixth Mississippi cavalry, Mabry's brigade, and served under Gen. Wirt Adams until not long before the battle of Harris- burg, when he, with his brigade, were transferred to the army of General Forrest and took part in that battle. The battle of Harris- burg was fought near Tupelo, in Lee county, and is designated by the Federals as the battle of Tupelo. From that time until the close of the war, Judge Critz served under Forrest and received his parole as a member of that command. Soon after his enlistment he was appointed third sergeant. When but eighteen years old he was tendered the position of first lieutenant as a reward for meritorious service. That promotion was prevented by the termination of service in the surrender of Forrest at Livingston, Ala., soon there- after. After his admission to the bar, Judge Critz engaged in the practice of his profession, first at Starkville, then at Lagrange, in Choctaw county, whence he removed to West Point, in November, 1872. In that place he has since continued in the active practice of his profession, in which he has attained prestige and success. He has had several partnership associations in his professional work and is now senior member of the firm of Critz & Kimbrough; his present partner being T. C. Kimbrough. For a long time he was

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partner of Hon. R. C. Beckett, and that firm became one of the best known in the State. Critz & Beckett were employed by the State revenue agent to recover back taxes from various corpora- tions, and the suits prosecuted by them resulted in securing judg- ments in favor of the State for more than $1,500,000, all of which was collected. Judge Critz is a stalwart and uncompromising sup- porter of the Democratic party and has done much effective service in its cause. He was chancellor of the Sixth judicial district of Mississippi, 1880-1888; was a member of the State senate, 1894- 1896 inclusive, and was a member of the lower house of the legis- lature, 1896-1900. In 1903 he made the race for governor of the State against Hon. Jas. K. Vardaman and Hon. E. F. Noel. Noel having been defeated in the first primary, the second primary was between Critz and Vardaman. During that entire campaign Judge Critz made a spirited and notably clean and legitimate cam- paign, securing a strong representative support that clung to him to the last, but the final result was his defeat by about 6,000 votes. Still, as a result of his canvass, several important measures, ad- vocated by him alone, have been since enacted into laws and become a part of the policy of the State. And his interpretation of the limitation of the Constitution of the United States upon the power of the State to discriminate against the negro in school privileges has been followed by the legislature. After the end of that campaign he returned to his practice at West Point. He and his wife are zealous and valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, and he is steward and trustee of the church in West Point, as well as teacher in the Sunday school. He is also a mem- ber of the general board of missions of the Southern Methodist church. He is affiliated with the local lodge, chapter, council and commandery of the Masonic fraternity, and with the Mystic Shrine, and also with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks, and United Confederate Vet- erans. On Dec. 7, 1876, was solemnized the marriage of Judge Critz to Miss Lizzie B. Barker, daughter of Dr. Richard D. and Anne McClelland Barker, of Macon, Miss. Mrs. Barker was a Cockrell and was a descendant of the Harrisons, a family prom- inent both in England and America. She was a second cousin of Gen. William Henry Harrison, who was President of the United States, and she was closely related to Benjamin Harrison, signer of the Declaration of Independence. Judge and Mrs. Critz became the parents of seven children, of whom three died in infancy-Annie Beauchamp, Florrie Pugh and Louise Bates. Josie Evans, the eldest living child, is the wife of Prof. Richard Henry Watkins, superintendent of city schools of Bristol, Tenn. Bessie Beall Critz and Frank A. Critz, Jr., are still at the parental home. Walter Barker Critz, the second son, a young man of exceptional promise, died Sept. 13, 1906, just twenty-one years old. Capt. Walter B. Barker, distinguished for civil and military service, as Confederate soldier, consul and soldier in the regular army of the United States, was Mrs. Critz' only brother.

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Crowder, Arthur C., general manager of the interests of the Prudential In- surance Company of America, in the State of Mississippi, with headquarters in the city of Jackson, is one of the able and aggressive young insurance men of the country, as is evidenced by the high preferment which is given him by this celebrated life insurance company. Mr. Crowder was born in Fluvanna county, Va., July 16, 1868, and is a son of John and Mary Boardman (Jones) Crowder, members of well known families of the patrician Old Dominion. He was reared in Huntsville, Ala., and after a due pre- liminary discipline, entered the Alabama Polytechnic institute, at Auburn, Ala., where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1889, having completed the literary course and receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. After leaving college he located in Birming- ham, Ala., where he followed the vocation of fire insurance, and he has been identified with that business since 1889. He was made Mississippi manager for the Prudential Company in 1902, and has since maintained his home in Jackson, where he has gained a wide circle of friends in both business and social circles, while the interests of his company throughout the State have been signally advanced through his able and discriminating efforts. He is an excellent administrative officer and has shown much judgment in securing the best class of agents for his company. In politics Mr. Crowder is an uncompromising adherent of the Democratic party, and in a fraternal way he is identified with the Masonic order, Mystic Shrine, Kappa Alpha college society and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of which last mentioned he is district deputy grand exalted ruler for Mississippi, taking a deep interest in the work of the order, in which he enjoys unqualified popularity. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias. Mr. Crowder was married in August, 1899, to Mattie Robinson Saunders, daughter of R. L. Saunders, of Jackson, Miss. They have one child (son), Arthur Campbell Crowder, Jr., aged three years.

Cromwell, Blake L., one of the well known and distinctively popular citizens of West Point, has long been prominent in political affairs, and was one of the gallant defenders of the Confederate cause in the war between the States, having been made captain of his company and having served during the entire course of the great conflict as a member of Adams' brigade, taking part in the in- numerable engagements in which that command was involved. Captain Cromwell was born in Sumpter county, Ala., July 14, 1835, and thus has passed the span of three score years and ten, but his years are not evidenced in his appearance or bearing, for he has been a thorough sportsman, has lived much out of doors and has retained wonderful vitality and sturdiness of constitution. He is

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a son of Patrick S. and Penninah (Little) Cromwell, both natives of North Carolina, where the former was born in 1803 and the latter in 1810. Patrick S. Cromwell removed from his native State to Alabama in 1835, there continuing to reside about twenty years, during which period he gave his attention principally to his exten- sive plantation interests. He then disposed of his property in Alabama and came to Oktibbeha county, Miss., where he became a prosperous agriculturist and the owner of a large number of slaves. He was also a railroad contractor, having constructed seventeen miles of the Mobile & Ohio railroad, in which he was a large stock- holder. He continued to reside in Oktibbeha county until his death, which occurred in 1860, his widow surviving until 1870. They became the parents of three sons and two daughters, of whom the subject of this sketch is now the only survivor. After due pre- liminary training, Capt. Cromwell entered Brownwood Institute, at Lagrange, where he took an academic course and properly fitted himself for the active duties of life. After leaving school he en- gaged in farming near West Point, Miss., being thus placed and occupied at the time when there came the call to higher duty, at the outbreak of the war between the States. His loyalty to the Confederacy was of no equivocal order, as is evidenced by the fact that, Oct. 1, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Capt. Robt. Muldrow's company E, Adams' regiment and brigade of Mississippi cavalry, which command was continuously skirmishing and fighting during the remainder of the war. Among other important engagements in which he took part were the battles of Shiloh and Bowling Green, and his command made a notable record in following Sherman's forces from Vicksburg to Jackson, the history of that famous brigade being the record of the military career of the subject of this sketch. He was elected lieutenant of his company at the time of its formal organization and was later promoted its captain, in which office he served until the close of the war, having been mustered out at Gainesville, Ala., in May, 1865. After the war Captain Cromwell resumed his association with the agricultural interests of Missis- sippi, then prostrate and perturbed through the ravages of the great conflict. In 1865 he was elected a member of the legislature, from Oktibbeha county, and served until he was removed from office with the incoming of the notorious "carpet-bag" regime. In 1879 he received through Congressman H. L. Muldrow, an appointment as clerk in the national house of representatives, in which capacity he served three years, at the expiration of which he returned to Mississippi and located in West Point, where he became a member of the mercantile firm of W. H. Robertson & Company, with which he was identified four years. At the time of President Cleveland's first administration, Captain Cromwell was appointed United States revenue agent, being first sent to Chicago and then assigned to duty in New Orleans, where he remained during the residue of Cleveland's administration. Upon the re-election of Cleveland to the presidency, the captain was reappointed a revenue agent, being first stationed in New Orleans, later in St. Louis, and finally in San Francisco,

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Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III, Part 18

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