USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III > Part 4
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city clerk, to which he was elected in 1906. For a number of years Mr. Anderson was also a popular and valued instructor in the summer normal schools of the State, and in this connection the work assigned him was that of which he has ever been particularly fond-history and civics. The following extract from a report of the president of the State normal school of Mississippi pays this well-deserved tribute to Professor Anderson: "In closing I wish to make mention of Prof. W. A. Anderson for his thorough prepara- tion for the work and for the very thorough manner in which he did it, and for his gentlemanly bearing and genial disposition. I . give it as my opinion that he has not an, equal in equipment for this work in the State." He is a man of fine scholarship, and it is needless to say that he retains a deep interest in educational work, though no longer identified with the same in an active way. On Dec. 19, 1861, Mr. Anderson entered the Confederate service. He enlisted as a private in Company K, Twenty-sixth Mississippi in- fantry, with which he took part in the battles of Fort Donelson, Coffeeville, Champion Hills, Jackson and the Wilderness, besides innumerable minor engagements. In the battle of the Wilderness he was severely wounded in the left shoulder. He was promoted from private to the position of color guard, later was elected second lieutenant of his company and finally was promoted to first lieu- tenant. He continued in active service until practically the close of the war and was mustered out in April, 1865. His interest in his old comrades is signified by his membership in the United Confed- erate Veterans. Mr. Anderson is aligned as a loyal supporter of the Democratic party but he never sought or held public office until his election as city clerk, as already noted. In 1862 he became a member of the Presbyterian church in Holly Springs and he has been a most zealous worker in the same. In 1885 he was elected elder of the church, and he has served as superintendent of its Sunday school since 1886. On Dec. 22, 1880, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Anderson to Miss Helen Craft, daughter of Hugh and Elizabeth Robinson (Collier) Craft, of Holly Springs. No children have been born of this union.
Bailey, Oscar L., M. D., a leading physician and surgeon of Ocean Springs, Jackson county, merits recognition among other representative members of his profession whose names appear in this compilation. The Doctor was born in Conehatta, Newton county, Miss., Jan. 12, 1870, and is a son of Dr. John B. and Josephine (Day) Bailey, the former of whom was born in Alabama and the latter in Newton county, Miss. The father has long been one of the leading medical practitioners of Newton county and is still engaged in practice at Conehatta. Dr. Oscar L. Bailey com- pleted the curriculum of the public schools and was early led to formulate definite plans for preparing himself for the profession which has been signally honored and dignified by the services of his father, under whose preceptorship he gained his initial knowl- edge of the sciences of medicine and surgery. He then was matricu- lated in the St. Louis college of Physicians and Surgeons, in St.
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Louis, Mo., in which old and well ordered institution he completed the prescribed course and was graduated as a member of the class . of 1892, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He served his professional novitiate by engaging in practice in his native town, Conehatta, and later was located in Lake, Scott county, whence he came to Ocean Springs in 1897, since which time he has been in general practice at this place, having built up a large and repre- sentative business. He is president of the Jackson county medical society, and is also identified with the Mississippi State medical association and the American medical association. He was one of the promoters and organizers of the Ocean Springs State bank, which opened its doors for business March 27, 1905, and which has received a representative support from the start. Dr. Bailey is president of the bank, which is incorporated with a capital of $15,000, Frederick M. Weed is vice-president, and Alfred L. Staples, cashier. The Doctor is a stalwart adherent of the Democratic party, but his interest in public affairs is of a broad and liberal sort and not hedged in by partisanship. He is county health officer and holds a similar office for the city of Ocean Springs, while he is president of the board of education and is assistant acting surgeon in the marine hospital service of the government. He is a Knight Templar Mason, a noble of the Mystic Shrine, a member of the Knights of Pythias, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, while his religious faith is that of the Cumberland Presby- terian church. On Jan. 2, 1895, Dr. Bailey was united in marriage to Miss Berdie Anderson, daughter of A. R. Anderson, of Edwards, Hinds county, Miss., and they have four children, Beryl, Bemiss, Clothilde and Salome.
Bailey, James M., vice-president of the Bank of Courtland, Panola county, where he is also engaged in the general mer- chandise business, was' born in Hall county, Ga., Aug. 22, 1857, and is a son of Robert S. and Eliza A. (Thompson) Bailey. They came to Mississippi while the subject of this sketch was a child and located in Yalobusha county, where the father engaged in planting and also con- ducted a general store. He served under Gen. Robert E. Lee during the Civil war, and after the close of the great struggle removed with his family to California, where he met his death in 1874, as the result of an accident. His wife died in 1870, in Yalobusha county, Miss. James M. Bailey passed his boyhood days on the farm and was afforded the advantages of the public schools, and in 1874, after the death of his father, he returned to Mississippi, being at the time about seventeen years of age. In Yalobusha county he was identified with agricultural pursuits for some time, while for eight years he was employed as salesman in a mercantile estab-
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lishment and for two years as a traveling salesman, after which he engaged in the mercantile business on his own responsibility, at Tillatoba, where he remained two years. In 1903 he opened his present general store in Courtland, where he has built up a very prosperous business, his establishment being commodious, while each department is well stocked and appointed. He was one of the organizers of the Bank of Courtland, in 1903, and is vice-president of the institution at the present time. He has a pleasant home in Courtland and is also the owner of other desirable town property, including his store building. The Democratic party finds Mr. Bailey. one of its loyal supporters, and he is a member of the board of alder- men of Courtland at the present time (1906), while he served in a similar capacity while resident of Tillatoba, Yalobusha county. He is a member of Stonewall Jackson Lodge, No. 332, Free and Accepted Masons, and is also affiliated with the Woodmen of the World and the Knights of Pythias. On Feb. 2, 1876, Mr. Bailey was married to Miss Sallie Smith, and she died in 1895, being survived by five sons-James L., who died Jan. 16, 1902, and F. W., associated with his father in business as bookkeeper; S. C., now of Augusta, Ark., and Vernon and Ernest, attending school. On Dec. 5, 1900, Mr. Bailey wedded Miss Martha Baker, daughter of Israel Baker, a well known farmer of Panola county, and of this union have been born two children-Lena R. and Robert S.
Baldwin, William O., one of the honored and popular citizens of Canton, where he holds the office of chancery clerk of Mad- ison county, has long been prominent in political affairs in the county and he went forth from this county to do valiant service as a Confederate soldier in the war between the States, in which he rose to the rank of captain. Captain Baldwin was born near Thomson, in Columbia county, Ga., June 25, 1839, and is a son of Oliver W. and Martha (Magruder) Bald- win, both of whom were likewise native of that county, whence they removed to Madison county, Miss., when the subject of this sketch was a child. Captain Baldwin was afforded the ad- vantages of the schools of Sharon, this county, and his early busi- ness experience was one of identification with agricultural pursuits. In 1861, soon after war had been declared between the North and South, he entered the Confederate service, enlisting as a private in Company C, Eighteenth Mississippi infantry, from which he was transferred to Company H, Ninth Mississippi infantry, in October of that year. He took part in the battles of Shiloh, Murfreesboro and Chickamauga and then in the Georgia and Kentucky campaigns, being in the first battle of Manassas and thereafter in the series of engagements leading up to the conflict at Leesburg. He was pro- moted through the various grades and was mustered out as captain.
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His record as a soldier was one of signal excellence and is one in which he may well take pride. He holds membership in that sterl- ing organization, the United Confederate Veterans. At the close of the war Captain Baldwin located in Canton, where he established himself in the drug business, later being engaged in the practice of law for a number of years. Since 1881 he has been connected with the office of chancery clerk of the county, and he is incumbent of the clerkship at the time of this writing. He is a conservative Democrat and is prominent in the local councils of the party. On Oct. 8, 1868, Captain Baldwin was united in marriage to Miss Lucy Whit- ney, daughter of Judge John Whitney, of Fayette, Miss., and she died in 1900, two days after the death of their eldest child. Con- cerning the children of this union the following brief record is entered: Lucille, whose death occurred in 1900, was the wife of P. D. Whitney, and is survived by two children, William Baldwin and Charles; William Percy, only son, has charge of his father's plantation, in Washington county ; Maud is the wife of Dr. Yerger Hicks, of Vicksburg, and they have one child-Martha ; Hattie May is the wife of F. C. McAllister, of Canton; Willa is the wife of Henry C. Hooker, of Lexington, this State, and Annie remains with her father.
Ball, Jesse Newton, M. D., is worthily upholding the prestige of the medical profession in Pike county, being engaged in practice at Summit. The Doctor is a native of the county which is now his home, having been born in Tylertown, Dec. 22, 1864, and being a son of Daniel Newton Ball and Mary E. (Tyler) Ball, both of whom were likewise born in this State and county. Dr. Ball re- ceived his academic education in Kavanagh college, which was then located at Holmesville, Miss., and his professional education was secured in Louisville medical college, at Louisville, Ky., where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1893, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. In the same year he went to Texas, where he had been practicing from June, 1890, to Oct., 1892, on a certificate, in which State he was engaged in practice until 1895, when he located in Alexandria, La., where he built up a good practice and where he remained about a decade-until his removal to Summit, where he has met with a most favorable support and has taken rank with the leading physicians of his native county. He is a member of various medical associations, is identified with the Masonic fraternity and he holds membership in the Methodist Epis- copal church, South, his wife being a Baptist. On Jan. 6, 1897, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Ball to Miss Lovie Brumfield, daughter of Jesse K. and Elizabeth Jane (Harvey) Brumfield, of Pike county, Miss., and they have four children, namely: Claudius Eugene, Myrtle Olive, Harrold Curtis and a baby. Dr. Ball is a Mason and a Woodman.
Ballenger, Joseph I., president of the State Bank of Gulfport, is one of the influential citizens of Harrison county and one of the leading members of the bar in this section of the State. He is a native of the State of Georgia, having been born in the city of
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Atlanta, Sept. 8, 1854, and being a son of Joseph T. and Mary (Steele) Ballenger, the former of whom was born in North Carolina and the latter in South Carolina, while both passed the closing years of their lives in Calhoun, Miss., the father having followed the vocation of farming during the greater portion of his active busi- ness career. Joseph I. Ballenger was about three years of age at the time of his parents' removal from Georgia to Mississippi, the family locating in Calhoun, where he secured his early educational training in the common schools, while as a youth he determined to fit himself for the profession in which he has gained so much success and distinction. After a preliminary course of reading under private preceptorage he entered the law department of Cum- berland university, where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1876, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In the same Centennial year he located in Pittsboro, Calhoun county, Miss., in July, 1880, where he initiated the active work of his pro- fession, his novitiate being of comparatively brief duration, since his thorough knowledge of jurisprudence, combined with marked energy and discrimination, soon brought him into relative promi- nence among his professional confreres. He built up a large and important practice in that county and in the Federal courts, con- tinuing to maintain his residence in Pittsboro for a period of twenty years. He also attained to distinction in connection with public affairs, being one of the leaders in the ranks of the Demo- cratic party in that section. In 1885 he was elected to represent Calhoun county in the State legislature, while in 1891 he was again chosen to represent the county in the same body and was made his own successor in the election of 1895. In the lower house of the legislature he proved a potent and active worker and gained the unqualified commendation of his constituency, so that it was but a natural sequence that he should be called upon to fill the office of senator from his district-the thirty-first senatorial district, com- prising the counties of Calhoun, Pontotoc and Chickasaw. He was thus elected to the State senate in 1899, but resigned the office in the succeeding year, which marked his removal to Gulfport, which is in another district. Here he forthwith established himself in the practice of his profession, and his reputation as a lawyer was such as to gain for him a most gratifying reception in his new field of endeavor, his clientage being of representative order, while he is prominent also in the civic and business life of the community. In 1902 he was elected to the office of mayor of Gulfport, serving one term and then declining to become a candidate for re-election. He is a member of the Mississippi bar association and is held in high regard by his professional confreres throughout the State. In 1905 Mr. Ballenger completed the erection of his fine modern stone block, which is one of the best structures in the business section of Gulfport and in which his offices are located. He was one of the leading promoters and one of the organizers of the State Bank of Gulfport, which was incorporated in 1905, and of which he has been president from the start, while J. F. Steward is vice-president,
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and George P. Hughes, cashier, the bank having an authorized capitalization of $100,000. Mr. Ballenger is a member of the Baptist church, as is also his wife. On March 31, 1880, Mr. Ballenger was united in marriage to Miss Timpie Hayes, of Webster county, and she died in April, 1886, leaving one child, William Lester, who is a young man of twenty-three years at the time of this writing. On Oct. 2, 1889, Mr. Ballenger was married to Miss Anna Gunn, of Calhoun county, and they have three children, Roy, Ivan and Lu- cille, aged respectively fourteen, twelve and ten years (1905).
Barnes, Harris Adkinson, resident partner and general manager of the firm of Barnes, Ruffin & Company, who con- duct an extensive general merchandise business and are also engaged in the man- ufacture of turpentine at Columbia, Marion county, is a native of the city in which he maintains his home, having been born May 13, 1863, and being a son of Harris and Annette (Equin) Barnes, the former of whom was born in Robinson county, N. C., and the latter in the city of New Orleans, La. The father of our subject became one of the successful planters and farmers of Marion county, and was a man highly esteemed in this section, where he continued to make his home until his death, his wife also being deceased. The subject of this review was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm and continued to be identified with the agricultural in- dustry until he had attained the age of twenty-six years, having in the meanwhile received excellent educational advantages in the public schools of his native county. In 1890 he established a gen- eral store at Lumberton, Pearl River county, conducting the same until 1895, when he there formed a copartnership with R. W. Hin- ton, under the firm name of Hinton & Barnes, who there continued to be engaged in the same line of enterprise until 1899, when Mr. Barnes disposed of his interest in the business and came to Colum- bia, where he engaged in the general merchandise business and in the manufacturing of turpentine. The enterprise grew to such large proportions that in 1901 it was found expedient to organize a stock company, which was duly incorporated in that year, under title of Barnes, Ruffin & Company, which has since been retained, the interested principals being G. L. Hawkins and V. M. Scanlan, of Hattiesburg : P. E. Blalock, of San Antonio, Tex. ; and Mr. Barnes, who became the resident manager, in which capacity he has since continued, while it is mainly due to his excellent administration of affairs that the business has assumed a position of so distinctive importance. The company now occupy their fine new building, which was erected in 1903 and which is one of the best business blocks in the state, being 60x116 feet in dimensions, two and one- half stories in height and affording an aggregate floor space of
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14,000 square feet. A general mercantile business is carried on and the establishment is divided into various well equipped depart- ments, so that the details of the enterprise are facilitated in their handling. In connection with this business the concern is also largely interested in the manufacturing of turpentine, representing one of the important industries of that section of the State. Mr. Barnes is a director of the Columbia bank, the Columbia Compress Company and the Foote & Drummond Commission Company, and is also vice-president of the Columbia Cotton Oil Company. In politics he is somewhat conservative. He has held no office save that of superintendent of education for Marion county, which position he ably filled for a period of six years. He and his wife are valued members of the Methodist church in their home town. On June 15, 1886, Mr. Barnes was united in marriage to Miss Jeanette Reagan, daughter of William and Susan (Scarborough) Regan, well known residents of Marion county, and the children of this union are three in number, namely : Etta May, Phala Equen, and Hilma Allene.
Barry, F. G., of West Point, was born at Woodbury, Tenn., January 15, 1845. While a school boy he enlisted with the Con- federate army. After the war he studied law and was admitted to the bar. He was elected to the State senate, and served from 1875 to 1879. He was a Democratic elector for the state in 1880, and in 1884 was elected to the Forty-ninth Congress, serving till 1889.
Barton, Roger, son of Dr. Hugh Barton and Mary Shirley, was born Oct. 2, 1802, near Knoxville, Tenn. He came from a line of honorable ancestry, on both sides. Thomas Barton and Hannah Clark came from England, married in Southern Pennsylvania, and in 1747, their son Roger Barton was born. He moved from Pennsylvania to Virginia, and in Berkeley county, married Margaret Gil- breath who was born in Ireland. From Berkeley county, he moved to Frederick county near Winchester, Va., where his son Hugh was born in May, 1776. In 1777 Roger Barton served under the command of Maj. James Chew, in the Revolutionary war, at Fort Pitt. Hugh Barton finished his medical studies in Philadelphia, and in 1796 moved to Greenville, East Tenn., where he met and married Mary Shirley in 1799. He was a member of the legislature from Anderson county in 1809, served as clerk of the county court for a period of twenty-four years, except for six months during the War of 1812, when raising a company he joined Gen. Jackson. He died in Ala- bama, in 1853. His wife, Mary Shirley, was the daughter of Walter Shirley, whose father had emigrated from England and settled on
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the Potomac river, Virginia, and of Hester Vance, daughter of Col. Samuel Vance, son of James Vance and Mary Gamble Glass of County Down, Ireland, who were descended from a noble Scotch family. Col. Samuel Vance commanded a regiment at Yorktown, and was prominent in colonial affairs before the Revolution. Walter Shir- ley lived in Berkeley county until his death in 1822, and the town of Harper's Ferry is built upon land owned by him. Roger Barton, the subject of this sketch, graduated from the University of Tenn- essee at Knoxville, studied law, and located at Bolivar, Tenn., where he was associated with one of the most talented lawyers of the State, Judge Valentine Barry, whose sister, Eudora, he married in 1832, and whose father, Daniel Barry, had immigrated to America because of his connection with Emmett's rebellion. Mr. Barton was at that time a member of the Tennessee legislature, and was selected by that body to fill the office of attorney-general which duty he fulfilled with the distinguished exhibition of those qual- ities which rendered him so famous in criminal practice. In 1836 he emigrated to Holly Springs, Miss., where his remarkable talents and striking characteristics gained for him practice and popularity. In 1838 and 1849 he held a leading place in the legislature. In 1840 and 1844 he was very active politically, but after success had crowned his efforts, he declined to accept the appointment from Governor Brown to fill the unexpired term of the senator of his district. In 1849 he received the nomination of his party for congress, which honor he declined. He was afterward tendered by President Pierce, the position of U. S. Consul for the Island of Cuba, which he did not accept. In 1837 with Governor Vroom of New Jersey, he was appointed by the president, one of the commis- sion to examine the claims of the Choctaw Indians to contingent reservations, under the fourteenth article of the treaty of "Dancing Rabbit" Creek, a matter of vital importance to the people of the northern counties of Mississippi. He performed the difficult duties involved, with distinguished skill and diligence. Kind and gen- erous of heart, the best services of Roger Barton were oftener given to the poor and distressed and to the young. In his profes- sion he was a tower of strength. For his patriotism, fidelity, gen- erosity, affection and love, he enjoyed the warm and universal meed of friendship and esteem. In the vigor of manhood and intellect he died, March 4, 1855, leaving to his children the heritage of a pure and spotless reputation. He left five children: Mrs. Mary Clark, who for a period of ten years was at the head of Franklin college, then a leading institution for young ladies, died in 1888; Roger Barton, a promising young lawyer of Hernando, Miss., enlisted at the first call to arms in 1861, and became adjutant of the Ninth Mississippi regiment and fell Aug. 31, 1864, at Jones- boro, Ga .; Hugh Barton, a member of Company F, Second Ken- tucky cavalry, died Dec. 17, 1891 ; Mrs. Rosa B. Tyler has long been identified with the educational interests of North Mississippi and is favorably known in her profession. Mrs. Louise Rector, widow of Judge John B. Rector of Texas, is a woman of worth and ability.
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Bank, The First National, of Greenville, Miss., is one of the solid and ably managed financial institutions of the State, enlist- ing in its support ample capital and the executive co-operation of representative business men of the highest reputation. The bank was organized and incorporated in 1887, being the successor of the Merchants' bank, a private banking institution which had been owned by Maj. James E. Negus, who became president of the First National at the time of its founding. He continued in tenure of this chief executive office until his death, in 1903, and directed the affairs of the bank with consummate wisdom and discrimina- tion. In the presidency he was succeeded by his son, Wade Hamp- ton Negus, the present incumbent. The present executive corps is as follows: Wade H. Negus, president; John T. Atterbury, vice- president ; Aderton B. Nance, cashier; and Thomas W. McCoy, assistant cashier. These officers, with the exception of the cashier, are also members of the board of directors, which includes in ad- dition, Messrs. LeRoy Percy, Reuben W. Millsaps, Henry F. Kriger and George B. Alexander. The institution has been signally prosperous in its operations and is now one of the strongest banks in the State, having a capital of $100,000, a surplus of $150,000, and deposits amounting to $1,000,000. The present banking house was erected for the accommodation of the institution in 1903, is one of the classic-Grecian style of architecture and is conceded to be the handsomest and best equipped exclusive bank building in the State.
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