USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III > Part 38
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Hebron, John Lawrence, Jr., of Greenville, Miss., is an able and popular member of the State senate, representing the Twenty- ninth district, and is a prominent member of the bar of Washington county. He is also a large and successful cotton planter. Senator Hebron was born in the city of Vicksburg, Miss., July 6, 1864, and is a son of Dr. John Lawrence and Ellen (Ellington) .Hebron. Both of his parents have crossed the deep and silent waters within the past two years. His father was an able member of the medical pro- fession and was surgeon in the Confederate army. He was a mem- ber of the State legislature in 1876 and was one of the lessees of the State penitentiary in 1877-78. The mother was a woman of rare intellectual accomplishments and was the authoress of two books of poems-"Songs from the South" and "Faith or Earthly Paradise." The subject of this sketch after due preliminary dis- cipline, entered Mississippi college in 1877, and remained a student in this institution for parts of three sessions. In 1881 he was ma- triculated in the University of Mississippi, being graduated from several of the literary departments in June, 1885, and from the law department in 1887. His record in the law department was the highest of his class. While in the university he held high standing as a declaimer and debater, and won one of the freshman medals in declamation and the Phi Sigma anniversaryship in competitive debate. He began the practice of law at Leland, Miss., in July, 1887. He was elected county attorney of Washington county in
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January, 1896, and served until January, 1900, and was recognized as a capable and faithful legal adviser and counsel. On Nov. 3, 1903, he was elected to represent his district in the State senate. That body regards him as one of its ablest and most useful mem- bers. In January, 1904, Governor Vardaman appointed Senator Hebron a member of the board of trustees of the University of Mississippi and the board at its first meeting after his appoint- ment made him a member of its executive committee. In August, 1903, he was elected chairman of the Democratic executive com- mittee of Washington county. In March, 1906, he was appointed levee commissioner for Washington county and in July of the same year was elected president of the board of Mississippi levee com- missioners. He is a member of the Delta Psi fraternity, Knights of Pythias and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In July, 1893, Senator Hebron was united in marriage to Miss Lulu Dean of Senatobia, Miss., a daughter of John M. and Martha (Crawford) Dean. The children of this union are three in number -Corinne, Dean and Cora. The senator is a loyal and active Dem- ocrat.
Helm, George Meredith, of Greenville, is engaged in business as a planter in Washington county, and is enjoying com- parative retirement after years of signal activity in important fields of endeavor. He has made an impress upon the history of the State of Mississippi, which he specially honored through his able services as a soldier during the Civil war, and he is one of the prominent and pop- ular citizens of this commonwealth. Mr. Helm was born near Pembrook, Christian county, Ky., Oct. 4, 1837, and is a son of Presley Neville Helm and Ann Elizabeth (Blakemore) Helm, the former of whom was born near Millwood, Jefferson county, in the beautiful Shenan- doah valley of Virginia, while the latter was born at Rosehill, near Fort Royal, Warren county, that State, both being representatives of prominent and patrician families of the Old Dominion. The cognate family names, tracing back to about the Seventeenth cen- tury, include the following: Neville, Gibbs, Blackmore, Ashby, Marquis, DeCalmes, Helm, Richardson and Buck. Capt. George Neville had among his descendants four generals of the War of 1812, besides Gen. Wade Hampton and Governor Morehead, of Kentucky, and Gen. Braxton Bragg, of Louisiana. Capt. George Blakemore, under General Calmes, had a brother killed at his side in the battle of the Brandywine, during the War of the Revolution, and afterward, while in General Greene's division, he was captured and sent to Charleston, S. C. Each family mentioned above furnished its quota of privates, as well as some officers, in the War of 1812, and many who were conspicuous as soldiers during the War
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of the Revolution. George M. Helm completed his educational training as a youth in Masonic college, now known as the South- western Presbyterian university, at Clarksville, Tenn., and he was a resident of Washington county, Miss., at the time of the climacteric conditions which culminated in the Civil war. In 1861 he tendered his services in defense of the Confederate cause, enlisting in the Washington county artillery, proceeding with his command to Kentucky. At Bowling Green, that State, he was promoted to the office of lieutenant in an engineering corps and was sent to Nash- ville, Tenn., to obstruct the river at Gower's Island, twenty miles below the city, accomplishing the assigned work with much ability and despatch, leaving a gap of only seventy feet in the obstruction for navigation, and erecting fortifications to command it. That point was abandoned by the Confederacy when Fort Donelson fell, and Lieutenant Helm then reported to General Hardee, and after the battle of Shiloh he was promoted captain of engineers, in Gen- eral Hardee's corps, and he remained with said corps, which was later commanded by. General Hood and Gen. S. D. Lee, until the close of the war. He participated in every general engagement of the Army of the Tennessee, besides frequent cavalry engagements, while on reconnoitering duty, and many encounters when only infantry brigades and companies were engaged. He was promoted major of engineers just before the capitulation of General Lee, and at Charlotte, N. C., was ordered by Major-General Gilmore to re- port to President Davis on his march southward and westward. At Washington, Ga., Mr. Helm reported to General Breckenridge, sec- rectary of war, being made his chief of staff and being incumbent of that office at the time when President Davis left the temporary
governmental headquarters, while three days later the secretary of war also took his departure, advising all of the officers and men to go to the nearest post and surrender. On that disheartening final expedition Major Helm accompanied Morgan's gallant cavalry, now dwindled to three companies, whose valiant captain had asked him to go with them into Athens, Ga., to obtain terms of surrender. The provost marshal offered the members of the little command only citizens' parole, and under those conditions Major Helm went to the commanding officer, General Palmer, who was a gentleman, and received him as such, and the general sent a staff officer with Major Helm with instructions to the provost marshal to give the men regular parole, according to the terms agreed upon by Grant and Lee and Sherman and Johnston. Mr. Helm had received a thorough technical training as a civil engineer, and prior to the war, from 1854 to 1857, he was employed as engineer on the Mem- phis & Grenada railroad. In 1857 he made a survey for the Nash- ville & Northwestern railroad over Tennessee Ridge, and in 1859 he was assistant engineer on the Mississippi river levees from Memphis to Vicksburg. After the war he was made assistant engineer of the levee district from Vicksburg to Coahoma and the Bolivar line, retaining that incumbency one year, and being then made chief engineer of the lower Yazoo levee district, a position
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from which he was soon dislodged by the importunate northern "carpet-baggers," during the period of reconstruction. In 1875 he was elected sheriff of Washington county, Miss., and the victory gained at that time was a most gratifying one, as it indicated the returning of the local governmental affairs into the hands of those who were normally citizens, implying the overthrow of the rule of what would be to-day termed the "grafters" who came in from the North to assume control. There were many worthy men who were given positions of trust in the South during that unhappy period of reconstruction, but the majority sought only the spoils of office as an ultimate. In 1882 Major Helm was re-elected chief engineer of the lower Yazoo district, was re-elected in 1884, serv- ing until 1886, since which time he has given his attention to his valuable plantation interests in Washington county. It is needless to say that he is a stalwart advocate of the principles of the Demo- cratic party, and he has been prominent in its councils in Washing- ton county for many years. In 1888 Major Helm was united in marriage to Miss Anna Eakin, daughter of Judge Eakin, a member of the supreme court of Arkansas, and she died in the same year, leaving a daughter, Annie, who survived her by only three months, the mother having died in childbirth. On May 3, 1899, Major Helm married Miss Julia D. Coleman, daughter of Frank Hinds Coleman and Elizabeth (Blackburn) Coleman, of Lake Providence, La., and they have two children-George Meredith, Jr., born March 29, 1900, and Gay Coleman, born Nov. 29, 1902. Preparatory to the first reunion of the United Confederate Veterans, Major Helm received the appointment of aide-de-camp on the staff of Lieut .- Gen. S. D. Lee, commanding the Army of the Tennessee, being the only mem- ber who had served on the staff of that honored officer during the war. In 1904, at the reunion of the United Confederate Veterans of Mississippi, Major Helm was elected brigadier-general of the Third brigade, Mississippi division, which distinguished office he now holds, taking a deep interest in all that pertains to the welfare of his old comrades in arms.
Hemphill, Brickley C., is numbered among the sterling business men of Perry county, where he is concerned in enter- prises of noteworthy scope and import- ance. He is a native of the old Buckeye State, having been born in Belle Center, Logan county, Ohio, Dec. 2, 1857, and being a son of Samuel C. and Melissa (Huckle) Hemphill, the former of whom was born in Ohio and the latter in Iowa. The public schools of his native State afforded Mr. Hemphill his early educa- tional advantages, and in the initial portion of his independent business career he became a resident of Big Rapids, Mich., where he became very successful in the handling of pine
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lands, there maintaining his headquarters for a number of years. In 1887 he came to Mississippi and located in Hattiesburg, where he has since maintained his home and where he has been an in- fluential factor in insuring the development and industrial progress of this section of the State. He here engaged in the real estate business, devoting special attention to the handling of timber lands, and with this important branch of business he is still actively and prominently concerned. In 1902 he was one of the organizers of the People's Ice and Coal Company, of which he is secretary and treasurer, while he is also secretary and treasurer of the Rich Lumber Company, whose operations are extensive. In his political allegiance Mr. Hemphill is a stanch Democrat, and while he has never sought official preferment he is signally loyal to civic duty, and is at the present time a member of the board of aldermen of Hattiesburg. He was elected alderman in 1902, as representative of the Second ward, and in 1904 was chosen to represent the city at large. He is one of the valued citizens of the city and county.
Hemphill, Melvin, of Hattiesburg, Perry county, has taken a position of prominence in connection with the de- velopment and civic advancement of southern Mississippi within the last decade and a half, especially in the locat- ing of timber lands and the development of their opulent resources, and he is still largely concerned in real estate opera- tions, being one of the honored and influ- ential citizens of Perry county. The old Buckeye State of the Union figures as the place of Mr. Hemphill's nativity, since he was born in Belle Center, Logan county, Ohio, Aug. 1, 1850, and he is a son of Samuel C. and Melissa (Huckle) Hemphill, the former of whom was born in Ohio and the latter in Iowa. Mr. Hemphill gained his early educational discipline in the public schools of Ohio and Michigan, to which latter State the family removed when he was about thirty- six years of age. He became identified with the great lumbering industry of Michigan in the days when this line of enterprise was one of the most important in the northern section of the Wolverine State, and he finally engaged in the general real estate business in Big Rapids, that State, making a specialty of locating timber lands. His operations in this line led to his removal to Mississippi in 1888, since which year he has maintained his home and business head- quarters in Hattiesburg, where he has been associated with his two sons, R. H. and H. A. Hemphill, and his brother, Brickley C., in extensive real estate operations, having brought about the develop- ing of much timber land and promoted the erection of many saw- mills throughout this section. The Hemphill Brothers Company located the extensive holdings of the J. J. Newman Lumber Com- pany, one of the largest in southern Mississippi. In 1902 the Hemp-
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hill brothers effected the organization of the Hattiesburg Light and Power Company, for the furnishing of electric light and power, and the, present fine plant which supplies the city was erected and equipped, being maintained in operation both night and day, so that power is available for manufacturing and other purposes. In 1904 the brothers disposed of their interests in this company. Melvin Hemphill is a stanch supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, but has never held political office. For the past twelve years he has served as notary public. On March 18, 1867, Mr. Hemphill was united in marriage to Miss Maria E. Canaan, daughter of Israel and Martha (Hisey) Canaan, of Yelverton, Ohio.
Henderson, John W., one of the best known and most highly esteemed citizens of Natchez, and the able incumbent of the office of superintendent of education for Adams county, is a representative of one of the old and influential families of this section of the State. He was born in the city of Natchez, Miss., on Oct. 16, 1832, and is a son of Thomas and Bathsheba (Putnam) Henderson, the former of whom was born in Natchez and the latter in the State of Ohio. John Henderson, father of Thomas, was a native of Scotland, whence he immigrated to America in the colonial era, having taken up his residence in Natchez about the year 1775. He became one of the prominent pioneer planters of this section, where he was one of the earliest settlers, and his marriage was solemnized in Adams county. He became the father of twelve children, and the name has been prominent in the annals of this part of the State ever since the time when it was under Spanish rule. Thomas Henderson likewise became one of the extensive planters of Adams county, while for many years he was also a prominent commission merchant of Natchez, wielding much influence in public and civic affairs and having been a leader in the Presbyterian church. Con- cerning this important phase of his life history the following appre- ciative estimate was written shortly after his death, being published in a church publication: "Mr. Henderson's long connection with and prominence in the church, and his position in the commercial and social world, made his influence to be widely felt and his worth to be generally known. The gifts which he had received from nature, and which had been cultivated by education to only a limited extent, were wonderfully expanded by the anointing from above which had been conferred upon him, so that in perspicacity of mind, in the well balanced movement of his judgment, in his clear dis- cernment of the principles of rectitude and the forms and propor- tions of truth, in the propriety and felicity with which he performed the duties of his office, in the way of public prayer or exhortation, he had very few superiors. His talents forced him, in a measure, out of that retirement which he sought, and the church at large asked, in various ways, the benefit of his services. He was for many years one of the vice-presidents of the American Colonization Society; from its foundation, a trustee of Oakland college, our synodical institution ; a frequent member of our local ecclesiastical councils ; and on several occasions a commissioner from his presby-
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tery to the general assembly. His liberality was princely, or rather, Christianlike. . The needy of all classes went to him for aid, and the readiness with which he dispensed, revealed the principle upon which he uniformly acted, that in the disbursement of his wealth he was discharging a stewardship intrusted to him by the Lord. When he died the population of the city were his mourners, and over the community, the church and the family there hung a stifling sense of loss, as if a presence which had been a safeguard and a blessing to them all had been withdrawn from them." John W. Henderson was afforded the advantages of Oak- land college, being graduated in this institution as a member of the class of 1852. He was thereafter actively identified with agri- cultural pursuits, in Adams county, until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he subordinated all personal interest to the cause of the Confederacy, becoming first lieutenant of an independent company of Mississippi cavalry, the "Breckenridge Guard," with which he was in active service three years, principally in Tennessee, taking part in the greater portion of the important engagements fought in that State. At the close of the war he returned home and disposed of his planting interests, but he steadfastly bent his energies to aiding in the rebuilding of the prostrate industries of his native State, having been for a number of years engaged in the general merchandise business in the city of Natchez. In 1882 Mr. Hender- son was appointed superintendent of education in Adams county, which office he has held consecutively from that time to the present, representing a period of nearly a quarter of a century, within which he has done noble work for the educational advancement of his assigned province and incidentally of the State at large. The school system of Adams county has been brought into most effective order, the work being unified throughout, while vitality has been infused into all portions and departments thereof, giving the county high prestige in this important field. The superintendent has been un- failing in enthusiasm and also in patience, and the results stand creditable alike to him and to the county. He has published a competitive essay on "The Sabbath," and delivered a number of addresses, among which may be mentioned the following: "The County Superintendent an Indispensable Factor in the Educational System," "How to Get the Best Educational Results Under Our New Constitution," and "The Women of the South." The address anent the county superintendent was delivered at a meeting of the Mississippi State teachers' association ; as was also the one pertain- ing to the results to be attained under the new constitution of the State, while the address last designated in the foregoing list was delivered before Camp No. 20, United Confederate Veterans, of Natchez, on Jan. 19, 1893. He also delivered a timely and interest- ing address at the commemorative exercises in celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the installation of Rev. Joseph B. Stratton, D. D., as pastor of the Natchez Presbyterian church. He later prepared an appreciative memorial and obituary, at the order of the presbytery, when Dr. Stratton was called to his final reward. He
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has been treasurer of the local camp of the United Confederate Veterans from the time of its organization, and is also chaplain of the same at the present time. Mr. Henderson has been a mem- ber of the Presbyterian church from his youth up, and in the matter of church work has well upheld the honor and precedence of the name which he bears. He was an elder in the church for the long period of thirty-three years, and in 1903 was ordained a clergyman of the church, since which time he has ministered in various country churches, thus amplifying the scope of his zealous and faithful service of many years. In politics he is a stanch Democrat of the Jeffersonian school, and he is affiliated with the Delta Kappa Epsilon college fraternity and with the Knights of Honor. In the year 1856 Mr. Henderson was united in marriage to Miss Helen J. Newman, of Natchez, and they have six children, namely : Nellie, wife of John Ayres ; Florence, wife of J. D. Kelley ; Anna B., wife of J. L. Young ; Walter P .; Thomas N .; and Corinne.
Henry, Patrick, member of congress from the third district of Mississippi, is senior member of the representative law firm of Henry & Scudder, of Vicksburg, and was formerly circuit judge of the ninth district. Judge Henry was born in Howard county, Ark., Feb. 15, 1861, and is a son of Dr. Edmund T. and Louisa (Forbes) Henry, both of whom were born and reared in Madison county, Miss. Dr. Henry served the Confederacy during the period of the Civil war, having been a surgeon in a Mississippi regiment, with the rank of captain. Judge Henry passed his boyhood days in Vicksburg, and after a preliminary educational training in the free schools he entered the United States military academy, at West Point, N. Y., where he remained as a cadet for one year and six months, while later he continued his studies in the University of Mississippi, at Oxford. He took up the study of law in Vicksburg and was here admitted to the bar in 1884, since which time he has been numbered among the members of the bar of this city, where he has risen to the highest rank as a lawyer and jurist. In 1888 he was elected city attorney, resigning the office after an effective service of three years' duration. In 1890 he was elected to represent his district in the State senate, but resigned within the first session. In 1896 he was delegate from the third congressional district to the Democratic national convention, in Chicago, which nominated Hon. William J. Bryan for the presidency. In 1891 he was elected district attorney for the Ninth judicial district, for a term of four years, and he was re-elected in 1895 and again in 1899. He resigned this office in Feb- ruary, 1900, to accept the appointment to the bench of the same judicial circuit, which comprises the counties of Warren, Claiborne, Sharkey and Issaquena. He presided on the bench with all accept-
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ability until March, 1901, when he resigned the judicial ermine, having been elected to congress from the third congressional district, without opposition, receiving 3,202 votes. His district embraces the counties of Bolivar, Coahoma, Issaquena, Leflore, Quitman, Sharkey, Sun- flower, Tunica, Warren and Washington, and his record in official position and in private and professional life was such as to render his preferment as congressman a just tribute from the voters of his district. Mr. Henry has been an effective promoter of the interests of the Democracy in his section, and is one of the leaders in its ranks in Mississippi. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a mem- ber of the Mystic Shrine, as well as the Knights of Pythias, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and Woodmen of the World, and is a member of the Episcopal church and vestryman of Trinity diocese. On Nov. 24, 1897, Judge Henry was united in marriage to Miss Lily Hicks, daughter of Dr. John M. and Ida (Yerger) Hicks, of Vicksburg, and they have one son-Patrick, Jr., born June 1, 1899.
Hicks, Charles W., alderman from the Fourth ward in the city council of Jackson, was born in Clinton, Miss., Nov. 1, 1880. He is a son of Charles W. and Mary (Lamb) Hicks, both natives of Clarksville, Tenn. The father was a merchant who enlisted in the Confederate service during the Civil war and served throughout that struggle, being once wounded by a minie ball passing through his shoulder. On the maternal side a great uncle, John House, was at one time one of Tennessee's representatives in the United States congress. Both parents died when the subject of this sketch and his twin brother, Henry L., were but three years of age, leaving altogether a family of five children (four sons and a daughter), three of whom survive. Charles W. Hicks was reared and edu- cated in the common schools of Wesson, Miss. It was necessary for him to start to make his own way while still very young. For a time he was an express messenger for the American Express Company and later a clerk for the Illinois Central railroad. His residence in Jackson dates from 1901, when he came here to work for twenty dollars a month. By hard work and persistent effort he has become very successful and is now considered one of Jackson's most substantial citizens and is at present engaged in the real estate business, being a member of the firm of H. L. & C. W. Hicks, the firm's motto being: "We Sell the Earth." He owns an elegant residence in the finest residence district of the city besides a num- ber of other houses and lots and about 3,000 acres of timber land on which stands a saw mill. In November, 1904, Mr. Hicks was elected to represent the Fourth ward in the city council and has since been the incumbent of that office. He is chairman of the sanitary com-
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