USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III > Part 32
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Bolivar troop which became Company H, First Mississippi cavalry, commanded by Col. R. A. Pinson of Armstrong's brigade, whose service was principally in the command of General Forrest. Dr. Grant was present at the battles of Belmont and Shiloh and was with Hood in the Tennessee campaign and also took part in the Georgia campaign. He participated in many of the historic battles of the war and remained in service until its close. After the war Dr. Grant attended the State university, at Oxford, for a short time. Then taking up the study of medicine, in 1822, he was graduated from the medical department of the University of Louisiana, now Tulane university, New Orleans. He has been most successful in the work of his profession and has been engaged in practice at Terry since 1876. He is an active member of the Hinds county medical society, the Mississippi medical association, the American medical association and the American association of railway surgeons, in all of which he takes great interest. His political pro- clivities are shown in the active support which he accords to the cause of the Democratic party, and he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias and Woodmen of the World. In 1875, Dr. Grant was united in marriage to Mrs. Sallie B. Norris, a daughter of Col. John W. Burnet of Terry, by whom he has three children who survive her-Sallie Burnet, who is the wife of Jarad W. Welling of Trenton, N. J .; Carrie Cecele, who is the wife of Robert W. Pleasant of Terry, and Walter Norton, who is a student in the University training school at Oxford. In 1901 Dr. Grant was married to Miss Tillie Hudson, daughter of Robert W. and Court- ney Hudson of Terry. The doctor is a valued and appreciative member of Robert A. Smith camp of Confederate Veterans, and is a consistent member of the Protestant Episcopal church.
Gray, Francis Marion, sheriff of Wayne county, is a native son of that county and has there made his home from the time of his birth, while he has well upheld the prestige of the honored name which he bears. He was born Oct. 13, 1865, and is a son of John L. and Mary Ann (McLeod) Gray, native respectively of Mississippi and South Carolina. John L. Gray was born in Wayne county, in 1816, and was a son of Clinch Gray, who was born in Tennessee and who was num- bered among the first settlers in Missis- sippi, and having been a government surveyor here at the time when Wayne county was surveyed. He was a member of the State constitutional convention of 1817 and was a man of wide influence in public affairs in the formative period of the commonwealth. Francis M. Gray while a boy, lived with his father and mother on the farm, attend- ing the public schools only after the crops were laid by, and looking after his father's interest the balance of the time; then he was for
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two terms a student in the agricultural and mechanical college in Starkville. Thereafter he engaged in farming in his home county, being thus employed until 1893, when he was appointed deputy sheriff, serving until 1896, while in 1903 he was given a most grati- fying endorsement at the polls in his election to the office of sheriff, for a term of four years. He is giving a most admirable adminis- tration of the affairs of the office, being fearless in the discharge. of its duties and permitting nothing to swerve him therefrom. He is well known throughout the county and has the confidence and esteem of its people. A loyal adherent of the Democratic party, he has shown a zealous interest in the promotion of its cause, general and local, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Baptist church of Waynesboro, while in a fraternal way the sheriff is identi- fied with the local organization of the Woodmen of the World. On Jan. 29, 1902, Mr. Gray was united in marriage to Miss Mittie. Busby, who was born and reared in Wayne county, being a daugh- ter of John S. and Annie (McRae) Busby, well known residents of that county, where her father is a prosperous farmer, while her mother is a distant relative of ex-Gov. John J. McRae, of Missis- sippi .. Mr. and Mrs. Gray have one child-Marion, a bright little girl, who is contributing towards making their little home happy.
Greaves, Joseph B., is one of the repre- sentative members of the bar of the capital city of the State, and is serving his third term as district attorney for the · Seventh judicial district of Mississippi. He is a native of Hinds county, which has been his home from the time of his birth, which occurred in the village of Clinton, March 18, 1854. He is a son of Joseph B. and Priscilla J. Greaves, the former of whom was born in South Caro- lina, in 1808, and the latter in Louisiana, in 1824. Joseph B. Greaves, Jr., secured his early educational discipline in the common schools of his native town, where he supplemented this training by a thorough course of study in Mississippi college. He then took up the study of law, fortify- ing himself by careful preliminary reading, and being admitted to the bar of his native State in 1875. He engaged in the practice of his profession in Edwards, Hinds county, where he made his pro- fessional headquarters until 1894, since which time he has resided in Jackson. He is an uncompromising advocate of the principles and policies of the Democratic party, and has been honored with preferment in various offices of public trust. He served as mayor of the town of Edwards for the long period of seventeen years, and was a representative of Hinds county in the State legislature during the sessions of 1882 and 1888, while he has been incumbent of the office of district attorney for the Seventh judicial district of the State since January, 1896, his third term expiring in December,
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1907. He has made an enviable record as an able and discriminating trial lawyer and his official course has gained to him the high regard not only of his professional confreres, but also that of the general public. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, as is also Mrs. Greaves, and they are prominent in the various de- partments of the church work. On Nov. 21, 1895, Mr. Greaves was united in marriage to Mrs. Alice Hill, daughter of Robert and Mary Elliott, of Edwards, Miss., and they have one child, Joseph B., Jr., who was born on Nov. 8, 1898.
Gordon, Thomas H., M. D., who is one of the representative phy- sicians and surgeons of Yalobusha county, being established in prac- tice in Oakland, has not only achieved splendid success in one of the most exacting and responsible professions to which a man may turn his attention and energies, but he has also identified himself with industrial affairs of wide scope and importance and is known as one of the leading business men and public-spirited citizens of his county. He was born in Grenada, Miss., Aug. 17, 1847, and is a son of Hilliard J. and Hannah (Wright) Gordon, both native of North Carolina. The parents were married in Carroll county, Miss., and located in Grenada, where they passed the remainder of their lives, the father having been a planter and a contractor during the greater portion of his active career. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, and both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, their lives being characterized by worthy thoughts and worthy deeds. Dr. Gordon secured his early educational training in the schools of his native town, and he was associated with his father in his business operations at the time of the inception of the Civil war. He was too young to enter the Confederate service at that time, but in August, 1864, he enlisted as a private in the Carrollton Rangers, a company raised in Carroll- ton, and he was in service with this command until the close of the war, when he was paroled. In 1872-3 he attended the Louisville medical college, at Louisville, Ky., and in 1874-5 was a student in the medical department of the University of Alabama, from which well known educational institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1875, receiving his well earned degree of Doctor of Medicine. He was thereafter engaged in practice in Carroll county for a year, when he removed to Grenada county, remaining there until 1878 when he moved to Yalobusha county, locating in Oak- land in 1883, where he has been eminently successful in the work of his profession, and where he has gained the unqualified esteem of the entire- community. He has acquired a large and valuable landed estate in Tallahatchie county, and gives to his plantation interests his personal supervision in a general way. He owns about 3,000 acres of land, besides a well equipped gristmill and cottin-gin. He has about 1,500 acres of his land under effective cultivation, producing an average of about 150 bales of cotton annually, be- sides sufficient hay, corn and other products to supply the planta- tion. He has an unassailable reputation as a citizen, a physician and a business man, and his success in temporal affairs is the more
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gratifying to contemplate by reason of the fact that it represents the results of his own efforts, as he started out in life with prac- tically no financial reinforcement. Dr. Gordon is a member of the State medical association and other professional organizations, and is local medical examiner for the Equitable, the Manhattan and the New York Life insurance companies, besides several fraternal or- ganizations. He is a stanch adherent of the Democratic party, and has served most acceptably as a member of the board of alder- men of Oakland. He and his wife are valued members of the local Methodist Episcopal church, South, and he is the present master of Oakland Lodge, No. 82, Free and Accepted Masons; consul com- mander of the lodge of Woodmen of the World, and a member of the Knights of Pythias. On Jan. 12, 1881, Dr. Gordon was united in marriage to Miss Lizzie R. Tatum, daughter of John and Mary A. E. (Cunningham) Tatum, both native of Georgia, and both now deceased, their marriage having been solemnized in 1844, the father having been a man of prominence and influence. Dr. and Mrs. Gordon have no children. Their beautiful home is a center of gracious hospitality and they are prominent in the social life of the community. Mrs. Gordon is a graduate of the Tennessee female college, at Memphis, and is a lady of refinement and distinctive culture.
Green, Marcellus, a distinguished lawyer of Jackson, was born in that city, Aug. 12, 1851. His parents, Joshua and Elizabeth (Jarvis) Green, were both natives of Maryland, the former of Havre de Grace and the latter of Baltimore. Joshua Green came to Jackson in 1835 and became associated with his brother Thomas, in the drug business. They continued in this line until 1858, when they opened a banking house. Two years later they built a large cotton factory, but before it was fairly in operation, the war broke out and paralyzed the industries of the South. All of the father's property was destroyed or confiscated during the war, leaving him at the close in an impoverished condition, compared with that he occupied before the commencement of hostilities. He was of Dutch and Irish descent, was a man of great determination, strong will and indomitable energy, and immediately went to work to rebuild his shattered fortunes. During the war he was captain of a company of old men, organized as militia, to do guard duty in Jackson. Al- though a man of public spirit, fully in sympathy with, and giving support to every enterprise calculated to promote the public wel- fare, he was never an aspirant for public office or political honors. He died at Jackson in 1887. Marcellus Green was educated in the Jackson public schools, Soule's commercial college at New Orleans, and at the University of Virginia, which he attended from 1868 to 1872. He then studied law in the office of Harris & George, at Jackson, for about three years, being admitted to the bar by the State supreme court in 1874. In 1875 he formed a partnership with Judge George L. Potter, which continued until the death of the latter in 1877. From that time until 188?, Mr. Green practiced alone with unvarying success. He then formed a partnership with Judge
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S. S. Calhoon, which lasted until Judge Calhoon was appointed to the supreme bench in 1900. In 1886, while a member of this firm, Mr. Green was admitted to practice in the supreme court of the United States. After the appointment of Judge Calhoon as one of the judges of the supreme court, Mr. Green formed a partnership with his son, Garner Wynn Green, which still continues. Politically Mr. Green is a Democrat, one who is always ready to defend his opinions, but he has never been a seeker of office. He has served as trustee of the Institute for the blind and of the Asylum for the insane, and as commissioner of Mississippi to the celebration of the promulgation of the constitution of the United States. These are the only positions of public character he has ever held, the duties of which he discharged with marked conscientiousness and unswerving fidelity. His highest ambition is to be a good lawyer, and his standing at the bar indicates that this has been achieved. He is a member of the Episcopal church ; is now and has been- for many years senior warden of St. Andrew's church at Jackson ; has for years served on the standing committee of the Diocese of Mis- sissippi, and has for many years been the superintendent of the Sunday school of St. Andrew's church. On April 24, 1879, he was united in marriage to Miss Lulah Edelin, daughter of Col. George G. and Ann Elizabeth (Wynn) Garner, of Columbus, Ga. To this union have been born the following children: Garner Wynn, Lulah Edelin, Gertrude Elizabeth, Elise Langdon, Marcellus, Jr., Lewis Jarvis and Ada. Garner Wynn, now twenty-four years of age, is in partnership with his father; Gertrude E. is the wife of Dr. O. M. Turner ; Elise Langdon is the wife of Edward L. Herring.
Greer, Homer C., is one of the repre- sentative young business men of Anguilla, Sharkey county, where he is associated with Dr. William H. Barnard in conduct- ing a well equipped drug store. He was born in Tate county, Miss., March 9, 1879, and is a son of Anthony P. and Lucy (Donovan) Greer, the former of whom was born in Mississippi and the latter near Richmond, Va. After due preliminary training in the schools of his native county, the subject of this sketch continued his studies in Ledon business college, in Memphis, Tenn., and in Cold- water college, at Coldwater, Miss. For three years he was employed in the drug store of J. E. Meek, at Rolling Fork, Miss., and he then located in Anguilla, where he is now a partner of Dr. Barnard in the same line of enterprise, the business being conducted under the firm name of Greer & Barnard. The store is attractive in its appointments and has the best of facilities, thus catering to a large and representative patronage. Mr. Greer is a loyal supporter of the cause of the Democratic party but has never had aught of ambition for public office. He is affil-
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iated with the Knights of Pythias and both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, South. On Feb. 10, 1901, Mr. Greer was united in marriage to Miss Laura Field, daugh- ter of Harris J. and Martha Field, of Anguilla, Mr. Field being the owner of a large plantation near that place. Mr. and Mrs. Greer have one child, Harris F.
Griffith, Benjamin W., the able and · popular incumbent of the office of mayor of the city of Vicksburg (1905), and pres- ident of the First National bank of Vicks- burg, is a native son of Mississippi and consistently designated as one of its rep- resentative citizens and business men. He was born on the home plantation near the city of Jackson, this State, Jan. 3, 1853, and is a son of Gen. Richard and Sallie (Whitfield) Griffith. Brig .- Gen. Richard Griffith, C. S. A., was born near Philadelphia, Pa., Jan. 11, 1814, and was of Welsh descent. He was graduated from the University of Ohio with first honors in 1837; soon after came to Mississippi and engaged in school teaching in Vicksburg. In 1846 General Griffith enlisted for the war with Mexico in the First regiment of Mississippi volun- teers, commanded by Col. Jefferson Davis. He was first lieutenant of his company, the Vicksburg Southrons, but when the regiment was formed he was made adjutant. He was an active participant in the many battles in which that famous regiment engaged, and was mentioned by his commanding officer for gallantry on the field. During this time a warm attachment was formed between Col. Jef- ferson Davis and Adjutant Griffith which lasted without interrup- tion as long as both lived. On the return from Mexico, General Griffith was elected treasurer of the State and served two terms and was United States marshal for the Southern district of Mississippi. He was a banker for many years in Jackson, Miss., and a close student of military tactics, holding prominent positions in the State militia. At the beginning of the war between the United States and the Confederate States, General Griffith was elected colonel of the Twelfth Mississippi regiment. On Nov. 2, 1861, he was appointed brigadier-general and commanded the brigade composed of the Thirteenth, Seventeenth, Eighteenth and Twenty-first Mississippi regiments. On June 29, 1862, during the seven days' battles around Richmond, he was mortally wounded at Savage Station and was taken immediately from the field to Richmond, where he expired on the evening of the same day, attended by President Davis and others. His rapid promotion and skillful generalship attracted the attention of his superior officers and his death was regarded as a great loss to his brigade. General Griffith was a brave soldier, a worthy, useful citizen, a cultured gentleman of the type of the old South, and was beloved by all who knew him. His portrait hangs
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in the Mississippi Hall of Fame. He was married three times; by first marriage he had one child, R. C. Griffith, who served in the Confederate army and died in 1874, his health having been shattered from exposure during the war. His second wife lived but a few months after their marriage; the third wife was Miss Sallie Whit- field of Hinds county, Miss. By this marriage he had four children : Jefferson Davis Griffith, a prominent surgeon of Kansas City, Mo .; Benjamin Whitfield Griffith, president of First National bank and mayor of Vicksburg; Richard Griffith, president of Merchants bank, Jackson, Miss., deceased Feb. 8, 1906, and Lucy Griffith Bailey, who died in 1894.
Jefferson Davis Griffith, physician and surgeon, was born in Hinds county, Miss., Feb. 12, 1850, and is the son of General Grif- fith and Sallie (Whitfield) Griffith. His early life was spent on a plantation near Jackson, Miss. He took his medical course at Bellevue hospital medical college of New York. where he graduated with honor in 1872. He located in Kansas City for the practice of his profession in 1874. He has become eminent as a surgeon and was for many years surgeon-general of the Missouri National Guard. During the Spanish-American war Dr. Griffith was made division surgeon, having charge of all the hospitals at Chickamauga and Lexington. He has been for a long time a prominent member of the American orthopedic association, and is recognized as one of the leading surgeons of the United States. He is identified with the association of military surgeons of the United States, and had the distinction of being elected president of that body before being con- nected with the army. He rendered the government valuable service in experimenting with the Krag-Jorgensen rifle when the question of its adoption by the army was under consideration, and his report on the subject disclosed facts which have become in- valuable in preparing defenses against firearms of that character. Dr. Griffith was married in 1880 to Miss Sallie Comingo, daughter of Congressman Comingo, of Missouri. The issue of this union was two children-a son, A. C. Griffith, recently graduated as a physician from the University of Kansas, and a daughter, Lucy, who died in 1903 just as she reached womanhood. Dr. Griffith is a member of the Baptist church, and a Knight Templar Mason. He is generous with his means and no appeal for help is turned away empty handed. Benjamin W. Griffith, the immediate subject of this sketch, completed a course in Mississippi college, at Clinton, in which fine old institution he was graduated with first honors, as a member of the class of 1872, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. After his graduation he was professor of mathematics in his alma mater for two years, after which he took up the study of law, being admitted to the bar, in the city of Jackson, in 1877. In 1878 he withdrew from the practice of his profession, upon which he had just entered and became bookkeeper in the Capital State bank. In 1884 he was chosen cashier of the institution, retaining this incumbency until 1893, when he resigned the office and accepted the presidency of the First National bank of Vicksburg, of which
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office he has since remained in tenure, directing the administrative affairs of the popular and solid institution with consummate tact and discrimination. He is one of the leading bankers of the State and for the past fourteen years has been secretary and treasurer of the Mississippi bankers' association. He is vice-president of the City Savings and Trust Company of Vicksburg; president of the local Board of Trade and the Vicksburg sanitorium ; and a member of the board of trustees of Mississippi college, of which he has also been treasurer for a number of years. In the autumn of 1904 Mr. Griffith was nominated for mayor of Vicksburg on the Citizens' ticket, and after a very exciting contest was elected by a large majority, for a term of four years. He is a Democrat in politics and is identified with the lodge, chapter and commandery of the Masonic fraternity, as well as the Mystic Shrine, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and the Knights of Pythias. Both he and his wife are zealous members of the Baptist church, in which he is a deacon. In 1819 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Griffith to Miss Cora Griffing, of Claiborne county, and they have seven children: Richard, who is cashier of the City Savings and Trust Company, of Vicksburg; and David C., Benjamin W., Jr., Cora, Sallie, Walter H., and Lucy. Benjamin W., Jr., was graduated with first honors in Mississippi college as a member of the class of 1906.
Griffin, William, lawyer and planter, of Greenville, is a descendant of one of the old pioneer families of Mississippi. His great-grandfather, Jeremiah Josiah Grif- fin, came to the State from South Caro- lina at an early day, bringing his slaves and stock down the Mississippi river in flatboats. He settled in Warren county, not far from Vicksburg, on a plantation which he called "Magnolia." Francis Griffin, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was in the War of 1812, al- though he had not at that time attained his majority. After the war he returned to Mississippi, locating in Washington county, and became an extensive cotton planter, both in Mississippi and Arkansas. He made his residence, however, on one of his plantations, called "Refuge," overlooking the Mississippi river, and it was there that John Griffin, the father of William, was born and passed the early years of his life. He married Sarah Lane, a native of Shelbyville, Ky., whose grandfather, Dr. John Knight, was with Col. William Crawford in the expedition sent out by General Wash- ington against the Indians about the year 1782, and was forced to witness the burning of Colonel Crawford at the stake by the savages, being spared a similar fate only through an accident. After his escape from the Indians, Dr. Knight returned to his home in Virginia and married a niece of Colonel Crawford, a young lady
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named Livingston. William Griffin was born in Louisville, Ky., in November, 1856, but a good part of his boyhood was spent on his grandfather's plantation, "Refuge," previously mentioned. He now operates two plantations, and as a lawyer has an extensive practice. Politically he is a Democrat and has held the office of city attorney of Greenville since 1895, with the exception of two years. He is a member of the Woodmen of the World, the Knights of Honor and the Elysian Club of Greenville, and is deservedly popu- lar in all these organizations. On Oct. 22, 1890, he led to the altar Miss Corinne, daughter of William and Elenora Corrinne ( Miller) Urquhart, of New Orleans, La. To that union have been born three children-William, George and Sarah Lane.
Gunn, Lundy Reid, of Waynesboro, is land agent for the Mobile & Ohio rail- road and is one of Wayne county's worthy and honored citizens, while he is also numbered among the veterans of the Civil war, having served during the entire course of the great conflict. Mr. Gunn was born in the State of Alabama, Nov. 17, 1841, and was an infant of less than one year of age at the time of his parents' removal to Mississippi. His father, Mad- ison Gunn, was born in Virginia, and he became one of the extensive planters of Mississippi, having settled in Monroe county early in the year 1842 and having been a resident of Chickasaw county at the time of his death, which occurred in February, 1900, at which time he was eighty-six years of age. He represented Chickasaw county in the legislature during the Civil war and was a man of marked influence in his community, while he so ordered his life as to command the respect of all with whom he came in contact. His wife, whose maiden name was Stacy Floyd Green, died in 1882. Lundy R. Gunn secured such educational advantages as were afforded in the schools of Chick- asaw county, where he was reared to maturity, in the meanwhile assisting in the operation of the home plantation. At the inception of the Civil war, moved by definite loyalty to the Confederacy, Mr. Gunn enlisted as a member of the Buena Vista Rifles, being nine- teen years of age at the time. This organization was mustered into the Confederate services at Corinth, becoming Company A of the Seventeenth Mississippi infantry. The command was forthwith sent to Virginia, taking part in the first battle of Manassas, as well as the engagements at Leesburg and Bull Run, the seven days' battling around Richmond, and the conflicts at Sharpsburg, Harper's Ferry, Cold Harbor and Spottsylvania. He was then with his regiment in the memorable Gettysburg campaign, and after the battle of Gettysburg was in the engagements at Yorktown, Chick- amauga, Knoxville and in the battle of the Wilderness, while the command was in front of Petersburg during the siege at that point.
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