USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III > Part 20
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12-III
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1885, the day of President Cleveland's first inauguration. Mr. Campbell became its cashier at the time of organization and re- mained incumbent of this office until 1890, when he became presi- dent of the institution. In 1887 he reorganized the First National bank of Natchez, with a capital stock of $100,000, and the Bank of Natchez was consolidated with this bank. In 1895 another re- organization took place, under a State charter, and the title of First Natchez bank was adopted. The capital remained $100,000 until 1902, when it was increased to $250,000, of which $100,000 was taken from the surplus fund. Under the different regimes divi- dends have been paid to the amount of $200,000, and no bank in the State has greater stability or is reinforced by abler executive con- trol. The bank now has a surplus of over $100,000; deposits of $1,650,000. The other well known men of affairs associated in the active management of the bank are: R. Lee Wood, vice-president ; Sim H. Lowenburg, vice-president; G. S. Pentard, cashier, and H. M. Gaither, assistant cashier. These young men have all added greatly to the success of the institution since their connection with it, while the directors are numbered among the best known busi- ness men of the city. The bank occupies a substantial and attractive building of Doric architecture and the same has recently been re- furnished and otherwise modernized. It has the best type of steel vaults and safe deposit boxes. The building was erected in 1833, by the Agricultural bank of Mississippi, on the corner of Main and Commerce streets and in the same location that was occupied by the first bank of the territory of Mississippi; the original building was erected in 1809. Mr. Campbell is one of the best known bankers in the South and his reputation in all the relations of life is un- assailable. He has been the artificer of his own fortunes and is eminently deserving of the proud American title of self-made man, in its higher and better significance. Mr. Campbell is a member of the Natchez Mardi Gras association and the Prentiss club, and is also affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He and his wife are communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church. In 1884 was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Campbell to Miss Mary V. Gaither, of Natchez, and they have been prominent in the social life of the community during the intervening years.
Carpenter, Joseph N., is recognized as one of the leading busi- ness men and most influential citizens of Natchez, which city has been his home from the time of his birth. He here has interests of wide scope and importance in an industrial and commercial sense, while it was also his privilege to render service as a soldier of the Confederacy during the Civil war. Mr. Carpenter was born in Natchez, Miss., Sept. 1, 1846, and is a son of the late Nathaniel L. and Julia (Luce) Carpenter, both representative of stanch colonial ancestry, the father having been born in Vermont and the mother in the State of New York. They took up their residence in Natchez in the thirties, the father here attaining much prom- inence in business affairs and retaining unbounded esteem and con-
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fidence in the community, both he and his devoted wife passing the remainder of their lives in Natchez. Joseph N. Carpenter was edu- cated in the schools of his native city, and was but fifteen years of age at the outbreak of the Civil war. On account of his youth he was not permitted to enter the service of the Confederacy in the early part of the war, though his patriotism was perfervid even at that time. He remained at home until the occupation of Natchez by the Federal troops, in July, 1863. Concerning his movements then and during the further progress of the war the Confederate Military History, Volume VIII, touching the State of Mississippi, speaks as follows: "He then began making preparations to join the Confederate troops, and this coming to the ears of the Federals, he was arrested and thrown in jail. Subsequently he was released, through the intervention of friends, upon giving bond in the sum of $2,000 in gold, signed by his father, that he would not take up arms against the United States government. He observed this com- pact only until the provost marshal left the city, when he also started out, but no action was ever taken to declare the bond forfeited. Riding to Brandon, Miss., with several companions, he, with the others, were arrested, all being charged with being spies. They were tried and were able to clearly prove their loyalty to the Confederacy, so that they were allowed to proceed. Mr. Carpenter's horse having been stolen meanwhile, he kept on his way by rail- road and, joining the army of Tennessee in front of Chattanooga, enlisted in the Breckinridge Guards, the escort company of Gen. John C. Breckinridge, a cavalry organization from Natchez. After General Breckinridge was assigned to other duty the company was attached to the headquarters of Gen. William B. Bate, of Tennessee, doing both escort and courier duty. Mr. Carpenter, with this com- pany, took part in the battle of Missionary Ridge; those of the Atlanta campaign, May to September, 1864; Franklin and Nash- ville, Tenn .; and the last campaign in North Carolina, finally sur- rendering with Johnston's army, at Greensboro, N. C., April 26, 1865. His battle service embraced some of the most famous and hotly contested combats of the war, and at Jonesboro his horse was shot under him. At the end the Confederate government was in- debted to him in the sum of $1,400, $1,150 of this being the appraised value of his horse, but, like many others, he took the dollar and a quarter that was paid out in Mexican silver, accepting this in satis- faction of all claims. The trip to his home was made by train, raft, wagon, steamboat and on foot, and though full of hardships was attended by so many ludicrous situations and novel adventures that the story is amusing to recall and interesting to relate." Mr. Car- penter has not failed to gain many of the victories which peace is said to have ever in store, for since the war he has attained to a commanding position in connection with the cotton industry and financial operations in the South, being known as a man of fine business acumen and executive ability. In 1867 he became a mem- ber of the firm of N. L. Carpenter & Son, which was founded by his honored father and which now has prestige as being the oldest
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cotton firm in Natchez, controlling extensive ginning interests and doing a large factorage business. Mr. Carpenter is also interested in many other local concerns-in fact may be said to have loaned his aid and financial co-operation in connection with almost every large business and financial institution of his home city. He is president of the Natchez Oil Company, the Mallery Grocery Company, the Natchez & Vicksburg Packet Company, was first president of the Natchez cotton exchange, is president of several land companies operating in the vicinity of Birmingham, Ala., is president of the Bessemer savings bank, of Bessemer, Ala., and is officially con- nected with various other corporations. As has been consistently written, the home of Mr. Carpenter "is one of the finest palaces of the old regime, originally costing $90,000, and this he maintains with beautiful surroundings and with the good cheer of southern hospitality, aided by his charming wife." Mr. Carpenter is found ever aligned as a loyal supporter of the cause of the Democratic party, but has never been a seeker of public office, his public spirit having rather been shown in his promotion and conservation of business enterprises which are of benefit to the entire community. He is identified with the United Confederate Veterans. In 1868 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Carpenter to Miss Zipporah Russell, who was born and reared in Louisiana, and they have one son and two daughters.
Carradine, Leonard W., of Fayette, Jefferson county, is a worthy scion of one of the old and distinguished families of the State, with whose annals the name has been identified since the early colonial epoch. The paternal grandfather of the subject of this re- view was Parker Carradine, who came from Georgia and located in what is now Jefferson county, Miss., about the year 1772. He married Miss Penelope Hill, of Georgia, and she died about the year 1835, in Madison county, Miss. On account of the part which he took in the revolt of the United States against the Spanish author- ities in 1871, Parker Carradine, with several others, was seized by the Spaniards and taken to New Orleans in irons. At the expira- tion of six months he and the others of the prisoners were released, through the clemency of the Spanish governor. During the terri- torial period he held the office of United States commissioner. He served as sole inspector for Villa Gayoso and Cole's creek of the first election ever held in Mississippi for choosing a representative of the American settlers in congress. This sterling and honored pioneer of the State died on his plantation, near old Greenville, Jefferson county, in 1820. The family genealogy is traced back to Spanish origin, and representatives of the name settled in North Carolina in the early colonial days. William Rapalie Carradine, youngest son of Parker Carradine, the founder of the family in Mis- sissippi, was born in 1819, was educated in Transylvania university, Kentucky, and became a lawyer. He practiced his profession at Shreveport, La., and his death occurred in Natchez, Miss., when he was but twenty-five years of age. In 1837 he married Miss Re- becca Chew Wilkinson, and their only child is Leonard Wilkinson
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Carradine, the immediate subject of this sketch. In 1843 the widowed mother married John Hunter, a young Marylander, who was at the time deputy marshal of Mississippi and who afterward became a successful merchant. He was collector of the port and mayor of Natchez for many years and was incumbent of the latter office at the time of his death, which occurred in 1863. He was also general disbursing agent for the Confederate government, for Louis- iana and Mississippi, at the time of his demise. He was held in un- qualified esteem by all classes, was a devoted husband and was especially kind and solicitous in the rearing of his stepson, as he had no children of his own. The Wilkinsons were an old Mary- land family who came to the colony with Cecil Calvert (Lord Balti- more), with whose family they intermarried, the latest instance having been the marriage of Frances Chew, great-grandmother of the subject of this sketch, to Mumberd Calvert, one of the earliest sheriffs of Mississippi. On Feb. 21, 1774, Ann Herbert Dent, daugh- ter of John Dent, married William Wilkinson. She was a direct descendent of a younger son of the house of Herbert, who came to Maryland with Lord Baltimore. In 1798, after the death of her husband, Mrs. Ann H. (Dent) Wilkinson moved to Washington, Miss., in response to overtures made by her kinsman, Gen. James Wilkinson, who was then engaged in the work of here forming a territorial government. Her family consisted of one son and six daughters. The only son, George, grandfather of him whose name initiates this article, served on the staff of General Wilkinson in the battle of New Orleans, War of 1812, and was commissioned by General Jackson to report news of the victory to the territorial seat of government at Washington, Miss. Leonard Wilkinson Carradine was born at Roakly, the old family homestead near Washington, Miss., Jan. 22, 1838, and his earlier childhood was passed in Jeffer- son county, where he was reared to the age of ten years, at the expiration of which the family removed to Natchez, in 1848. He was afforded the best of educational advantages, having attended Yale college and the University of Virginia and having withdrawn from the latter institution to enter the Confederate service at the inception of the war between the States. After the Kentucky campaign of 1862 he suffered so severely from the effects of camp fever that he was incapacitated for further field service, but he did effective service in the cause as deputy disbursing agent for the Confederate government and in the secret service, with which branches he continued to be identified until the close of the war. For the ensuing five years he was engaged in agricultural pursuits in Louisiana and Mississippi, and in 1871 he removed with his family to southeastern Texas, where he made investments. Circum- stances, however, rendered it expedient for him to return to Mis- sissippi, and since 1874 he has been numbered among the successful planters and representative citizens of Jefferson county, with whose history the family name has been so long and prominently con- cerned. In 1883 he was chosen to fill the important office of county superintendent of education, and in the following year he was
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elected sheriff of the county, an office of which he remained incum- bent four successive terms. His long tenure of the position offers the best evidence of the high estimate placed upon his services by the people of the county, and here his personal popularity is of the most unequivocal order. Since 1885 he has maintained his resi- dence in Fayette, but he still continues to give a general super- vision to his plantation interests. Mr. Carradine is a stalwart in the camp of the Democratic party and is affiliated with the United Confederate Veterans and with various other fraternal and social organizations. On Nov. 2, 1863, Mr. Carradine was united in mar- riage to Miss Emma Rivers, daughter of Col. Douglas L. Rivers, who was a native of Virginia and who became one of the distin- guished citizens of Mississippi. Mr. and Mrs. Carradine became the parents of seven children, of whom three are living-John Hunter, who is a successful physician and surgeon; and Rebekah Wilkinson, and Emma Herbert.
Carroll, Charles, of Liberty, Amite county, where he is incumbent of the of- fice of justice of the peace, is honored as one of the sterling citizens of the county and as a representative of one of the well known and prominent pioneer families of that section of the State, where his entire life has been passed. He was a loyal soldier of the Confederacy in the war be- tween the States, and his fealty in all the relations of life has ever been on a parity with that which thus prompted him to go forth in the defense of the cause of his loved southland. He was born in the town which is now his home and the date of his nativity was Dec. 2, 1831. He is a son of Dr. Edward and Rebecca Caroline (Lowry) Carroll, the former of whom was born in Fayette county, Ky., and the latter in Amite county, Miss., where their marriage was solemnized. Dr. Carroll came to Amite county when young and became one of the leading physicians and surgeons of this locality, where he was engaged in the practice of his profession for many years and where he also owned a valuable plantation. Charles Carroll, the immediate subject of this review, secured his early education in the schools of Amite county and sup- plemented this by a course of study in Oakland college, in Clai- borne county, which institution was closed after the Civil war. In 1862 he enlisted as a private in Company K, Thirty-third Mis- sissippi infantry, with which he served until the close of the war. He took part in many severe engagements, proved a faithful and valiant soldier and was promoted lieutenant in his company. His abiding interest in his comrades of the days long past is shown by his membership in the United Confederate Veterans. After the close of his military career, Mr. Carroll returned to his home in Amite county and prepared himself for the arduous work of assist-
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ing in reviving the prostrate industries of the South. He was iden- tified with agricultural interests for some time in an active way and also directed his energies in other lines of enterprise. For a num- ber of years he was engaged in the drug business in Liberty, and in 1884 he virtually retired from active business, since which time he has served consecutively as justice of the peace. He has made the office justify its title and has brought about amicable settlement of many cases submitted to him, while at all times he has held the confidence and regard of his fellow men in all stations of life. He is a Democrat in politics and is affiliated with the Masonic fra- ternity. In 1860 Mr. Carroll married Miss Amanda J. Robinson, who was born and reared in Mississippi, and who died in 1861, with- out issue. In 1870 he married Miss Frances A. Poindexter, who likewise was a native of that State and who died in 1879. She is survived by two children-A. B., who is a representative planter of Amite county; and William H., who is manager of the White- Brumfield Lumber Company of McComb, Pike county.
Carter, John Prentiss. Few citizens of the State of Mississippi have served longer or more ably in positions of high public trust and responsibility than has the present lieutenant-governor, John Prentiss Carter, who is distinguished not less as an official and public-spirited citi- zen than as a man of affairs. He main- tains his home in Hattiesburg, Perry county, where he has varied and impor- tant interests. Governor Carter was born near Augusta, Perry county, Miss., Feb. 7, 1840, and is a son of Abner and Isa- bella (McLeod) Carter, the former of whom was born in Georgia, in 1804, while the latter was born in North Carolina, Jan. 13, 1813. The ancestry on both sides is of stanch Scottish origin, and the original American progenitors settled in North Carolina in the colonial era. Isaac Carter, paternal grandfather of the governor, removed into Vir- ginia and thence to Georgia, while in 1808 he came to what was then the territory of Mississippi, settling on Leaf river, near the pres- ent town of Augusta, Perry county. John McLeod, the maternal grandfather, came from North Carolina to the territory of Missis- sippi in the same year, 1808, and took up his residence near Buca- tunna, on the Chickasawhay river, in Jackson county, and he repre- sented that county in the convention, in 1817, that formulated the first constitution of the State. Abner Carter was a man of much prominence and influence in Perry county, which he served as judge of the probate court and which he also represented in the State legislature, while he was also a colonel of the State militia. Both he and his wife died in Perry county. The future lieutenant- governor attended the Salem high school, in Greene county, from 1849 to 1857, under the able tutorship of David Moore, and in
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October of the last mentioned year he was enrolled as a sophomore in Centenary college, at Jackson, La., in which he was graduated, with second honors, as a member of the class of 1860, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Loyalty to the cause of the Confed- eracy soon called the young collegiate into the ranks of volunteer soldiers. In September, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company G, Twenty-seventh Mississippi infantry, in which he was soon pro- moted to sergeant major. In 1862 he became second lieutenant of his company, and in the following year first lieutenant. He took part in the battles of Murfreesboro, Chickamauga and Lookout Mountain, and in the last mentioned engagement he was wounded and captured, being taken to Johnson's Island, in Lake Erie, off the Ohio coast, where he was held in captivity until the close of the great internecine conflict, when he was there paroled as a prisoner of war. After the close of the war he returned to his native State, ravished and despoiled through the fortunes of warfare, and here he took up the study of law, being licensed to practice in 1867. He attained high prestige in the active work of his profession, continu- ing in practice at Hattiesburg until 1896, in which year he was elected president of the National Bank of Commerce in that city, a position which he has since retained, giving much of his time and attention to the executive supervision of the affairs of this solid and prosperous institution. In 1865 Governor Carter was elected delegate from Perry county to the State constitutional convention which met in Jackson, in August of that year. In the same year he was chosen to represent his county in the lower house of the State legislature, being elected his own successor in 1867. In 1873 he was elected to the State senate, as representative of the first senatorial district, being made his own successor in 1877, and refusing to again become a candidate at the expiration of his second term, in 1881. In 1887 he was elected a member of the lower house of the legis- lature, and in 1890 was a delegate to the convention which formed the present constitution of the State. On Nov. 3, 1903, he was elected lieutenant-governor of the State, and in this office his ser- vices have been given with the same high ability, discrimination and fidelity which have marked his entire official life. Governor Carter is one of the leaders in the Democratic party in the State, and his influence has ever been exerted in a helpful and judicious way in its councils. He and his wife are prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, and he is president of the board of stewards and also of the board of trustees of the church in Hattiesburg. He is also president of the Hattiesburg board of trade and takes a lively interest in all that touches the welfare of his home city. He is identified, in a most appreciative way, with the United Confederate Veterans, and for several years was captain commander of Hattiesburg Camp, No. 21, while in June, 1904, he was honored by his old comrades in arms by being elected brigade commander of the Second brigade, Mississippi division, United Con- federate Veterans. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and has served as eminent commander of Hattiesburg Commandery,
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No. 21, Knights Templar, while he is also identified with the adjunct organization, the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and with the fraternity known as the Mystic Seven. On Dec. 24, 1868, was solemnized the marriage of Governor Carter to Miss Margaret C. McCallum, daughter of John and Annie (Hart- field) McCallum, of Perry county, where she was born and reared. The ancestors of Mrs. Carter were of Scottish extraction, and the family was founded in the territory of Mississippi in 1808. Gov- ernor and Mrs. Carter have six children, namely: John McCallum, Prentiss Abner, George Henry, Annie Isabella, Charles Galloway and Martha Ruth.
Cary, William H., station agent for the Frisco line of the Chicago & Rock Island railroad system at Amory, one of the most important stations of the system in Mississippi, has held his present office since 1889, and is one of the well known and distinctively popular railroad men of the State. He was the second appointee as agent at this point and his services have not lacked appreciation on the part of the public and the railway officials. When Mr. Cary located in Amory, the town had about 800 inhabitants, and its pres- ent population is in excess of 2,000. The development has largely been brought about through the railway with which Mr. Cary is identified, as Amory is the most important station between Memphis and Birmingham. It is the relay station for freight crews and passenger engineers, and here has extensive yards and a well equip- ped round house. At this place $22,000 are paid out to railroad em- ployes each month. Mr. Cary holds an important and responsible office, and is known as an able executive and careful and faithful official. He was formerly in the employ of the Richmond & Dan- ville railroad and later was identified with the construction depart- ment of the Frisco line. He opened the company office at Jasper, Ala., from which point he was transferred to Aberdeen, Miss., and from that place he came to Amory to assume the office of which he is now incumbent. He is also local agent for the Southern Express Company. He is a. charter member of the International Associa- tion of Ticket Agents, of whose executive committee he is a mem- ber. He is also identified with the National Railway Agents' asso- ciation, of which he was a vice-president in 1903. He has ever shown a deep interest in the civic and material welfare of his home town, and he served ten years as a member of the board of alder- men of Amory ; for one term he was vice-mayor. He has been a valued member of the board of education for more than fifteen years. Mr. Cary is a Democrat in his political proclivities, and is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, Knights of Pythias, Benev- alent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was born in Chickasaw county, Miss., and was there reared and educated. His paternal grandfather was one of the pioneers of that section of the State.
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