Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III, Part 29

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 29

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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schools, James N. Francis entered the Winchester normal college, at Winchester, Tenn., from which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1888, coming forth well equipped for the work of the profession in which he has met so much of success. He taught one year in the schools of Winchester, four years in the public schools of Franklin county, Ark., and then returned to Mis- sissippi, where his work in the educational field has covered a period of fifteen years. He was teaching in the public schools of Lee county at the time of his election to the office of county superin- tendent of education, in 1903, and his administration has been marked by a wise and discriminating policy, by energy and fidelity, through which he has accomplished a work of value in furthering the cause of popular education in his province, while his course has met with unqualified approval in the county. In politics Mr. Francis is a stanch Democrat; he has been a member of the Mis- sionary Baptist church since he was twenty years of age; and in a fraternal way he is identified with the Woodmen of the World. On Oct. 16, 1890, Mr. Francis was united in marriage to Miss Nessie Caldwell, daughter of Capt. John Y. and Sallie (Willis) Caldwell, of Verona, Miss., and of the children of this union the following is a brief record: Olin C. was born Sept. 13, 1891; Grace Hermione was born Oct. 8, 1893, and died Feb. 1, 1900; Bonnie Eloise was born Oct. 4, 1895, and died May 25, 1897; Leona Lowell was born Dec. 26, 1897; Madie Vera was born Nov. 20, 1899; and Elaine was born Sept. 7, 1903.

Frasier, James H., president of the Winona Brick and Tile Company, and of the Winona Cotton Mills, is one of the representative citizens and leading busi- ness men of Montgomery county and has been in a significant degree the architect of his own fortunes, attaining success through well directed enterprise. He was born in Yazoo county, Miss., March 4, 1863, and is a son of James H. and Martha L. (Ross) Frasier. The father was a native of Tennessee, whence he came to Mississippi in 1856, becoming identified with agricultural pursuits, as one of the prosperous planters of Yazoo county. The subject of this review secured his early educational training in the public schools of his native county and effectively supplemented this by one year of study in the Mississippi agri- cultural and mechanical college and two years in the University of Mississippi. After leaving school Mr. Frasier followed the voca- tion of bookkeeping for a period of five years, and he then engaged in the general merchandising business at Shell Mound, Miss., being actively concerned in this line of enterprise for eight years. In 1900 he effected the organization of the Winona Cotton Mills, for the manufacturing of cotton in Winona, and he has been president

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of the company from the beginning, while it now has in operation a well equipped plant and is building up a most profitable business. He is also president of the Winona Brick and Tile Company, an- other of the important industrial concerns of the thriving little city, and is vice-president of the Citizens' bank of Winona, while he has made judicious investments in local real estate and is one of the loyal and progressive citizens of the State. Mr. Frasier is a sup- porter of the Democratic party, is a Royal Arch Mason, and the family are members of the Methodist church. In 1890 Mr. Frasier was united in marriage to Miss Anna Simpson, who was born in South Carolina.

French, Charles Arthur, a lawyer of Port Gibson, was born at Fayette, Miss., Dec. 15, 1855, and is the son of Charles T. and Sarah (Brewster) French. His father was a native of Indiana and his mother of Vermont. His paternal great- grandfather was a soldier of the Revolu- tion. His maternal ancestor, William Brewster, came to America in the May- flower, in 1620. Mr. French was edu- cated in the schools of Port Gibson and later studied law, being admitted to the bar in 1887. He located at Port Gibson, for the practice of his profession and has served as chairman of county Democratic committee of Claiborne county and as alderman of Port Gibson for two terms. Mr. French is a Mason and Woodman of the World. He was married.Dec. 21, 1881, to Cyrintha Davenport, daughter of David Shelby Davenport, of Port Gibson. Mr. and Mrs. French have five children : Mollie E., Sarah, Eugenia, Lena and Milo R.

Fridge, Arthur, adjutant-general of the Mississippi National Guards, was born July 31, 1881, at Indian Mound, East Baton Rouge parish, La., but later moved with his parents to Ellisville, Miss., in 1896. He attended Millsaps college at Jackson, Miss., and was grad- uated with the degree of LL. B. in 1901. In 1897 he joined the State militia and when the Spanish-American war began, enlisted in Company M, First Missis- sippi volunteers, of which he was color sergeant. He was appointed to the United States military academy in 1899. He was engaged in the practice of law at Ellisville, Miss., from 1902 to 1903. On June 18, 1904, he was ap- pointed adjutant-general of the National Guard by Gov. James K. Vardaman. He was married to Miss Alice Applewaite of Kos- ciusko, Miss., Aug. 21, 1904.

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Fridge, Benjamin Franklin, one of the leading business men and honored citizens of Ellisville, Jones county, is a member of an old and prominent Southern family, having been born in Baton Rouge, La .. Feb. 24, 1856. In that same historic old town were born his parents, John D. and Adeline (Wolff) Fridge, who passed their entire lives in the State of Louisiana, where the father still resides. The father of Adeline Wolff Fridge was John Leonard Wolff, who was born in Bavaria, Germany, and in 1806 came to the United States and settled in Baton Rouge, where he worked at cabinet making during -the remainder of his life and where a representative of the family still resides. John L. Wolff was a soldier in the Mexican war in 1848 and later served as lieutenant of a German company during the Civil war. The paternal ancestors of Mr. Fridge came from Scot- land. At the outbreak of the Civil war John Dorrance Fridge gave significant evidence of his loyalty to the Confederacy, enlisting as a private in the Fourth Louisiana infantry and being transferred from the same to the Twenty-seventh infantry, commanded by Colonel Allen. He took part in the battle of Baton Rouge, and in the engagement was seriously wounded in the shoulder, neces- sitating his temporary retirement on invalid leave. He returned to the service as soon as possible, however, becoming a member of a regiment of cavalry and having in command of his company Capt. E. M. Hooper. He was taken prisoner in East Baton Rouge parish and was sent thence to Ship Island, where he was confined under negro guards until the close of the war, being finally parolled at Vicksburg, Miss. His son Arthur is at the present time adjutant- general of the State of Mississippi, and another son, Harry G. Fridge, M. D., is surgeon of the Second regiment of the Mississippi National Guard, being engaged in the practice of his profession in Sanford, Miss. Benjamin F. Fridge secured his early education in the public schools of Louisiana, and when sixteen years of age became identified with the general merchandise business in East Baton Rouge parish, that State, while he afterward located in Wilson, La., where he was engaged in business for ten years, be- coming one of the most influential citizens of that section. In 1895 he came to Ellisville, Miss., and forthwith made capitalistic invest- ments of importance, thoroughly identifying himself with the civic and industrial affairs of the town and county and gaining recog- nition as one of the substantial capitalists and reliable and progres- sive business men of that locality, where his energies have been directed along divers lines of productive enterprise. He is identi- fied with mercantile business, the operation of saw mills and with real estate transactions, being the owner of much valuable realty in the county. He organized the Merchants and Manufacturers bank,

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of Ellisville, as well as the Tallahala Lumber Company and the Lowery Lumber Company, in which last mentioned he is still one of the largest stockholders. He is a stanch adherent of the Demo- cratic party, is a member of the Presbyterian church, and is affil- iated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Woodmen of the World and the Knights of Pythias. A man of gracious and genial personality and of a high order of business ability, he gains and retains the esteem and confidence of those with whom he comes in contact in the various relations of life, and he enjoys un- mistakable popularity in the attractive little city of his home. On July 24, 1878, Mr. Fridge was united in marriage to Miss Mary P. Greenwell, daughter of Capt. George W. and Mary (Kerr) Green- well, of Greenwell Springs, La. She was summoned to the life eternal in 1884, and is survived by two sons, Harry G. and Arthur. March 4, 1885, Mr. Fridge married Miss Alice P. Steadman, daugh- . ter of Lieut. George and Mary (Woodard) Steadman, of East Feliciana parish, La., and the names of the children of this union are as follows: Adeline, Alice, Benjamin Franklin, Jr., Rachel, Georgia, Charles, Dorrance, Frederick Marcus and Theodore.

Fairly, Alexander, M. D., a distin- guished member of his profession in Mis- sissippi and the pioneer physician of Mount Olive, Covington county, is one of the honored and influential citizens of this section of the commonwealth, prominent in public and social affairs and an ex- member of the State senate. Dr. Fairly was born in Greene county, Miss., Dec. 7, 1842, and is a son of Alexander and Margaret (Thompson) Fairly, the former native of Richmond county, N. C., and the latter of Marlborough district, S. C. They were numbered among the sterling pioneers of Mississippi, where the father became a successful planter, and here they continued to reside until death. Dr. Fairly completed a course of study in the Salem high school, in Greene county, and was about nineteen years of age at the outbreak of the Civil war. He forthwith enlisted in Company I, Seventh Mississippi infantry, which was assigned to the army of the Tennessee and saw much hard service. Dr. Fairly took part in the memorable battles of Shiloh, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Murfreesboro and others of importance, and near Franklin, Tenn., he was so severely wounded as to incapacitate him for further active service, and he was accordingly given an honorable dis- charge, having been corporal of his company. After the war he engaged in teaching school and also took up the study of medicine, finally entering the medical department of the University of Louis- iana, at New Orleans (now Tulane university), where he was grad - uated as a member of the class of 1877. Shortly afterward he located in the embryonic village of Mount Olive, being the first physician of

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the town, which was then a mere hamlet, and here he has ever since been engaged in the practice of his profession with the exception of an interim of a few years, during which he resided in Wesson, Copiah county. He is known to all classes throughout this section and his kindly and able ministrations have gained to him the affec- tionate regard of the people among whom he has labored so long and faithfully. In 1900 Dr. Fairly opened a finely equipped drug store in Mount Olive and he conducts the same in addition to giving due attention to his professional work. He has shown at all times a loyal interest in public affairs and is one of the stalwarts of the Covington county Democracy. In 1888 he was elected to represent the Seventh district in the State senate. He is a member of the board of aldermen of his city at the time of this writing, and had the distinction of being the first president of the local board of edu- cation, while his identification with local interests has been close and helpful, his loyalty to the fine little city of which he is the pioneer in his profession being inviolable. He is master of the local Masonic lodge and both he and his wife are prominent and zealous members of the Presbyterian church. On May 17, 1877, Dr. Fairly was united in marriage to Miss Nora Holloway, daughter of Will- iam B. Holloway, of Covington county, and they have four children -Mamie, Ernest, Eula and Ruth.

Faison, George W., Sr., who is living a retired life at Faisonia, Sunflower county, is a son of Capt. Hiram and Sarah (West) Faison. He was born in Southampton county, Va., Aug. 7, 1830, and in the Old Dominion State were also born his father and his paternal grand- father, showing that the family was founded in that State in the colonial days. Capt. Hiram Faison was born in Sussex county, Va., in 1810, and was a son of Squire Faison, who was of French line- age. Captain Faison was reared to maturity in the county in which he was born, and there was solemnized his mar- riage to Miss Sarah West, daughter of William West, who was a scion of one of the old and honored families of Virginia and who was a patriot soldier in the Continental line in the War of the Revo- lution. Of the children of Capt. Hiram and Sarah (West) Faison, three sons and two daughters grew to years of maturity, and of the number the subject of this sketch is the eldest. He was reared and educated in his native county, where he remained until 1851, when, at the age of twenty-one years, he determined to seek a home for himself in a new locality. Accordingly he took up his abode in Fayette county, Tenn., where he was engaged in agricultural pur- suits for a number of years. In 1858 he came to Mississippi and located in Issaquena county, where he conducted a plantation and was also engaged in the general merchandise business for the en-

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suing four years. Since that time he has maintained his home in Sunflower county and he has long been considered one of its most influential citizens, one who is held in unqualified esteem by all who know him personally or have cognizance of his useful and honorable career and impregnable integrity. The village of Faisonia was named in his honor. His first occupation after coming to Sun- flower county was that of planting, and in 1868 he also engaged in the general merchandise business. Since locating in Faisonia he has had several branch stores. His first establishment was a com- missary store, after the close of the war between the States, and in 1870 he also opened a general store at Johnsonville, where he built up a successful business, which he continued about six years. He sold this establishment in 1878 and in 1881 opened a store in Greenville, where he remained two years and where his success and prestige as a business man were of pronounced order. In 1888 Mr. Faison built a fine business block, with two store rooms, at Indianola, where he has since been identified with mercantile interests, which is conducted under the firm name of Faison & Son. The firm had three complete stores-one each at Indianola, Shaw and Faisonia, and the aggregate annual business of the concern was about $250,000. Mr. Faison is the owner of one of the largest and best improved plantations of Sunflower county. He has under cultivation in this county about 3,500 acres of land, in several plantations, and in addition to this he owns about 2,000 acres of wild land. Mr. Faison commenced business in Sunflower county at the close of the war almost empty-handed, but his personal in- dustry and superior business capacity have been the means by which he has accumulated a large estate. He is now one of the most substantial business men of this section of the State and to him is accorded unreserved confidence and regard in the section which has so long represented his home. His career is one of which he has every reason to be proud, and his reputation as a man among men is absolutely unsullied. He is a stanch adherent of the Democratic party and his support has ever been given to all worthy measures advanced for the general welfare of his town, county and State. He has long been prominently connected with the Methodist Episcopal church, South. In 1854, in the State of Tennessee, Mr. Faison was united in marriage to Miss Ellen R. Fields, who was born in North Carolina, but who was reared in Mississippi and educated in Tennessee. She was a daughter of Jesse Fields, who was an early settler in Issaquena county, Miss. Mrs. Faison was summoned to the life eternal in 1863 and is sur- vived by her only child, George W., Jr., of whom individual mention is made in this publication. In 1869 Mr. Faison contracted a second marriage, being then united to Mrs. Anna M. (Smith) Waites, who was born and reared in Hinds county, Miss., a daugh- ter of Judge Smith, who served on the bench of the circuit court for a number of years and who was at one time a member of the State legislature. Mr. and Mrs. Faison have five children: Walter B., William M., Addie E., James P., and Edmond H.

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Fields, Harris J., of Anguilla, is one of the extensive land owners and prominent and influential citizens of Sharkey county, where he has passed practically his entire life and where he is held in unqualified esteem by all who know him. He is a veteran of the Confederate service in the war between the States and is a citizen of progressive ideas and marked public spirit. Mr. Fields,was born in Northamp- ton county, N. C., Nov. 11, 1842, and in the same State was born his father, Jesse Rawls Fields. He was a boy at the time of the family removal to what is now Sharkey county, Miss., which was then known as Issaquena county, and here he was reared to maturity on the home plantation. His educational advantages were those afforded in the common schools of the county, and he continued to be identified with agricultural pursuits until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he subordinated all other interests to go forth in defense of the Confederate cause. In 1861 he enlisted as a private in Company L, Mississippi cavalry, and his regiment was in the command of Gen. Wirt Adams until 1864, after which it served under Colonel Woods. The first engagement in which Mr. Fields took part was a skirmish at Bowling Green, Ky., from which point his command retreated to Nashville, Tenn., after which it partici- pated in the battle of Shiloh. Later he took part in the engage- ments at Iuka Springs and Champion Hills and finally went into Alabama, where the members of his regiment were stationed at the time of the final surrender and where he received his parole in May, 1865. After the close of his long and gallant military career Mr. Fields returned to Sharkey county, where he engaged in farm- ing. His financial resources were at the lowest ebb but he bravely faced the problem presented and earnestly did his part in aiding the rebuilding of the prostrate industries of the South. In 1880 he rented the Woolfolk plantation of 800 acres, two miles south of Anguilla, and he soon afterward purchased the property, for a con- sideration of $40,000, which he paid in full within a period of five years. He showed much enterprise and business ability and his successes have been cumulative from that time forward, and he is now the owner of 3,000 acres of the fine delta land of Sharkey county. His residence is one of the finest in that part of the State. He is also owner of a half interest in the cotton-seed oil works in Anguilla, and is a large stockholder in the Bank of Anguilla and in the largest general merchandise establishment in that town. In politics he gives his allegiance to the Democratic party, and he is affiliated with the United Confederate Veterans. On Dec. 26, 1866, Mr. Fields was united in marriage to Miss Martha Catherine Sulli- van, daughter of John J. Sullivan, of Sharkey county, and of this union were born thirteen children, of whom five died in infancy.

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Emma died at the age of fourteen years ; Harris J., Jr., was twenty- four years old at the time of his death; Laura is the wife of Homer C. Greer, and they reside with her father; Margaret is the wife of Samuel C. Ryles, of Hollandale, Miss .; Thomas W. has charge of one of his father's plantations ; Grover Cleveland is assistant cashier of the Bank of Anguilla ; and Lillie and Hallie are attending school in the city of Washington, D. C. Mrs. Fields was summoned to the life eternal Oct. 7, 1904, and the memory of her gracious and kindly life rests as a benediction upon all who came within the sphere of her influence.

Foster, Thomas Robbins, is one of the leading members of the bar of the city of Vicksburg and he represented Warren county in the State legislature two consecutive terms. He is a scion of dis- tinguished stock, being a direct descendant of Reginald Foster, who settled in Ipswich, Mass., in the early colonial era of our national history, the ancestry being of English and Flemish origin. The genealogy, as given in an interesting and valuable compendium entitled "Foster Genealogy," compiled by Frederick Clifton Pierce and comprising more than 1,000 pages, traces back to Anarcher, great forester of Flanders, who died in the year 837 of the Christian era. From his vocation of forester is derived the latter-day name of Foster, and Sir Richard Forester was a brother-in-law of Will- iam the Conqueror, with whom he passed over into England, re- ceiving the order of knighthood after the decisive battle of Hastings, the Foresters becoming the principal chieftains of Northumberland and the ancestors of those bearing the varying names of Forester, Forster, Foster, etc., in succeeding generations. The family coat of arms is thus described: Arms-Sable, a chevron engrailed ermine, between three broad arrows or feathered argent; crest- an antelope's head, erased argent, attired or colored and chained of the last; motto-Inconcusser Fides. Early in the seventeenth century four sons of Allen Foster, of England, came to America, and Reginald Foster, who was born in Brunton, England, came to America in one of the vessels embargoed by King Charles I., and settled in Ipswich, Mass., about the year 1638, being one of the first settlers of the town and having been accompanied by his wife and their five sons and two daughters. In the War of the Revo- lution were found many representatives of the Foster family and they did able service for the cause of independence. In later gen- erations have been found many men of marked distinction in the various walks of life. Thomas R. Foster, of Vicksburg, was born in Mobile, Ala., May 20, 1852, and is a son of Hillary and Lucy (Meacham) Foster. Both continued to reside in Mobile until their death. The father was a man of fine intellectuality and much busi- ness ability, having been a prominent and influential citizen of Ala- bama. He was president of the Mobile bank and the Mobile & Ohio railroad, and was a member of the extensive mercantile firm of Boykin, McRae & Foster. The subject of this review was afforded the advantages of the schools of his native city and there- after continued his studies in a school at Warrenton, N. C. He

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then took up the study of law, prosecuting his technical reading under able preceptors and rapidly assimilating the details of the science of jurisprudence. He was admitted to the bar and has been actively engaged in the practice of his profession in Vicksburg since 1880, having gained prestige and precedence as an able trial lawyer and conservative and well fortified counsellor. He has been concerned in much important litigation in this section of the State and he is held in unequivocal esteem by his professional confreres. In 1884 he was elected justice of the peace, and from 1892 to 1902 he served consecutively as mayor of Speed's addition to the city of Vicksburg. In the year last mentioned he was elected to repre- sent Warren county in the State legislature, making an excellent record and being chosen as his own successor in the election of 1903. He gives an unqualified allegiance to the Democratic party and is an able exponent of its principles. He and his wife are communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church, and he is affil- iated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In the city of Vicksburg, Nov. 29, 1882, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Foster to Miss Mary Sophia Moore, daughter of Henry Tier- man and Harriet Ann Moore, of this city. Her father is said to have been the first teacher in the first public school established in Mississippi. To Mr. and Mrs. Foster were born four children, of whom only one is living-Mary Corinne. The deceased children are Hillary, Thomas Robbins and Henry Moore.

Farr, David D., the popular incumbent of the office of sheriff of Sharkey county, is one of the well known citizens of the city of Rolling Fork, the attractive coun- ty seat. He was born at Edwards, Hinds county, Miss., Jan. 29, 1874, and is a son of David D. and Martha Louana (Taylor) Farr, the former of whom was likewise born at Edwards and the latter near Columbia, S. C. Mr. Farr secured his early education in the public schools of Sharkey county, after which he continued his studies in turn at the Mississippi Agri- cultural and Mechanical college, Stark- ville, and Bethel college, Mckenzie, Tenn. He was employed on the plantation of his uncle, Charles H. Walton, in Sharkey county, until his eighteenth birthday, and thereafter he was engaged as clerk in the mercantile establishments of his brother, Albert S., at Shaw, Hollandale and Boyle, until 1896, when he was appointed deputy sheriff of Sharkey county. He held this position until 1900, when he went to Belcher, La., where he was employed as bookkeeper in a leading mercantile establishment until June, 1904, when he returned to Rolling Fork and again assumed the office of deputy sheriff of Sharkey county. He retained this incumbency until the death of the sheriff, Charles H. Walton, in October, 1906, when he was elected to fill the vacant office, and he

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Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III, Part 29

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