USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III > Part 41
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the offices of county sheriff, circuit clerk and chancery clerk, having been incumbent of the last mentioned position for twenty-seven years. After the Civil war he took up his residence in Monroe county, Miss., where he was an officeholder for half a century. He was an ardent supporter of the Confederate cause during the Civil war, and because of his uncompromising loyalty he was several times imprisoned. Two of his sisters also were arrested and placed in prison, for singing Confederate songs. Robert E. Houston, the subject of this sketch, was afforded the advantages of Hiwassee college, in Monroe county, Tenn., after which he entered the law department of Cumberland university, at Lebanon, that State, where he was graduated in 1860, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Since 1860 he has been engaged in the practice of his pro- fession in Aberdeen, Miss., where he has attained to pronounced success and prestige. He was one of those loyal sons of the South who promptly tendered their services in defense of the cause of the Confederacy at the initiation of the War between the States. On April 17, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company I, Eleventh Mississippi infantry, with which he proceeded to the front, his regi- ment becoming a part of the Army of Northern Virginia. While at Camp Fisher, Va., he was accidentally wounded and by reason of the resulting disability he was granted an honorable discharge in the winter of 1862. He started for his home, but at Knoxville, Tenn., he met Gen. John H. Morgan, in whose command he en- listed. He became a member of Company A, of Duke's regiment, with which he participated in all the engagements from Gallatin to Augusta, at which latter place he was wounded in the groin. On account of this injury he was sent to Lexington, Ky., where he re- mained two months, at the expiration of which he returned home. After the escape of General Morgan from the Federal prison he made his way to the home of the subject of this sketch, who accom- panied him to Richmond, Va., where, through the influence of General Morgan and Colonel Phelan, Mr. Houston was appointed adjutant and inspector-general, with the rank of captain. He then joined Gen. John C. Vaughn, commanding a Tennessee brigade, and later he proceeded to Grenada and finally to Vicksburg, Miss., where he arrived on Christmas day, 1863. He was present during the memorable siege of that city and July 4, 1863, surrendered to Gen- eral Grant. He was given a parole with two months' furlough, was given charge of a parole camp in Atlanta, Ga., where he remained until the time of the battle of Chickamauga, when he was ordered to discharge the paroles and was sent with General Longstreet's com- mand to East Tennessee. Thereafter he served under Generals Early, Breckenridge and Jackson, and he was with his command within three miles of Lynchburg, Va., when the news of Lee's sur- render was received. He was with a portion of his regiment at Raleigh, N. C., where they met President Davis, to whom they acted as center guard for a time. At Washington, Ga., they were informed of the capture of the President and they then surrendered and were granted paroles, after which Captain Houston returned to
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Aberdeen, Miss., where he has since been engaged in the practice of his profession. During his military career he took part in the many engagements in which his command was involved and he proved a most loyal and valiant soldier of the Confederacy. Captain Houston has been prominent in the work of his profession and stands to-day as one of the leading lawyers of his section of the State. He is numbered among the loyal supporters of the principles and policies of the Democratic party and he has held various offices of public trust. He was prosecuting attorney of Monroe county in 1867-8, and was a representative of the county in the State legislature for four terms, having been elected to this office in 1884, 1890, 1894 and 1904. In 1905 he was elected to represent his district in the State senate and is a member of that body at the present time (1906). He and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian church and he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the United Confederate Veterans ; he also holds membership in the Mississippi historical society. For the past twenty-two years he has been commander of the local camp of the United Confederate Veterans and for two years he was commander of the Second brigade of the order in Mis- sissippi. He has extensive plantation interests and in all the rela- tions of life he is known as a loyal and progressive citizen. . On March 10, 1871, Captain Houston was united in marriage to Miss Mollie Weaver, daughter of William B. Weaver, of Columbus, Miss. Of this union were born five children, namely: Ellen, who died at the age of eighteen months; Joe E., who was graduated in the law department of the University of Mississippi and who is now associated with his father in practice; Lulu, who died at the age of twenty-two years ; Mary, who died in childhood ; and Robert, who likewise died young. Mrs. Houston died Jan. 1, 1895, and on Dec. 2, 1901, Captain Houston contracted a second marriage-he wedded Mrs. Helen E. Stoddard, of Aberdeen. She was born and reared in Mississippi and is a daughter of the late David Rush, a Confederate veteran and well known resident of Lowndes county, Miss.
Huggins, James R., vice-president and general manager of the Wetherbee-Huggins Company, of Waynesboro, one of the leading mercantile concerns of this section, is also vice-president of the Waynesboro bank and is one of the leading business men and citizens of Wayne county. He was born in that county, Sept. 19, 1861, and is a son of Dr. Manlius and Catherine (Roulston) Hug- gins, the former of whom was born in Alabama and the latter in Ireland. Dr. Huggins settled in Wayne county, Miss., about 1855, and was engaged in mercantile business until 1875, when he here began the practice of medicine, becoming one of the leading phy- sicians and surgeons of this section and continuing in the practice of his profession until his death, which occurred Jan. 20, 1897, while his devoted wife passed away Oct. 25, 1863. Dr. Huggins was a man of superior intellect and forceful character, wielding marked influence for good in the community and taking a loyal interest in public affairs. He served several years as clerk of the courts.
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James R. Huggins received a common school education and as a lad of ten years began his apprenticeship at the trade of telegraphist in the Waynesboro office of the Western Union Telegraph Com- pany. He became an expert operator and was employed as such at various places along the line of the Mobile & Ohio railroad, and for a period of about five years he was engaged in the Mobile office of the Western Union Telegraph Company. During the great strike of the telegraph operators of the United States in 1883, he left the employ of the Western Union, but was afterward agent in charge at Waynesboro, from 1883 until 1886. In the latter year he engaged in the general merchandise business in Waynesboro, under the firm name of Cochran & Huggins, and this association con- tinued until 1890, when Mr. Huggins entered into partnership with Chas. P. Wetherbee, in the same line of enterprise. The business was conducted under the firm name of Wetherbee & Huggins until December, 1903, when the concern was incorporated under its present title, with a capital stock of $50,000 and with officers as follows: Chas. P. Wetherbee, president ; James R. Huggins, vice- president and general manager; and Chas. H. Cole, secretary and treasurer. The company have a large and finely equipped establish- ment, which is divided into departments, each of which is well stocked and capably conducted, while the trade of the concern is large and representative, as progressive ideas and careful methods. are brought to bear. The company also control a large and im- portant business as cotton brokers, purchasing large amounts of this staple product each year. Mr. Huggins has been one of the stock- holders of the Waynesboro bank for the past five years, and is now vice-president of the institution. He was reared in the faith of the Democracy, and has never departed therefrom, though he has never been an aspirant for official preferment. Both he and his wife are zealous members of the Waynesboro Methodist Episcopal church, South, and at the time of this writing he is the superintendent of its Sunday school. On Dec. 11, 1890, Mr. Huggins was united in marriage to Miss Edwin Cole, daughter of Chas. H. Cole, who served several years as sheriff of Wayne county. Mr. and Mrs. Huggins have seven children, namely: Roulston, Isaac, Gracie, Mary, Gladys, Edwin and James R., Jr.
Hughston, Sanford R., a representative attorney and counselor- at-law at Ackerman, where he is associated in practice with J. Lem Seawright, under the firm name of Hughston & Seawright, has been a member of the bar of Choctaw county since 1879 and has been admirably successful in his professional endeavors. He was born in Emory, Holmes county, Miss., Aug. 10, 1858, and is a son of John P. and Emaline (Burkhead) Hughston, the former of whom was born in Tennessee and the latter in Pike county, Miss. The father was a soldier of the Confederacy, having served four years as a member of a Mississippi regiment during the great civil con- flict. Sandford R. Hughston completed the curriculum of the high school at French Camp, Choctaw county, and later attended the literary department of the University of Mississippi, at Oxford,
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while he was graduated in the law school of this institution as a member of the class of 1878, receiving his well earned degree of Bachelor of Laws and being duly admitted to the bar of his native State. He has been engaged in practice of a general order ever since his graduation, and Choctaw and the surrounding counties have been the scene of his professional labors. He has been asso- ciated with Mr. Seawright since 1903. In 1880 Mr. Hughston was appointed county superintendent of public education, serving two years and giving a most discriminating and able administration. In 1884 he was elected to represent Choctaw county in the State legislature, in which he served one term. His political allegiance is given to the Democratic party and he was chairman of the Dem- ocratic central committee of the county for several years. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias, and both he and his wife are zealous members of the Presbyterian church. On Dec. 22, 1886, Mr. Hughston was married to Miss Ada Amason, daughter of Edward D. and Mary (Rogers) Amason, and they have two children-Mary Emma and Sandford Rogers.
Howard, Louis Holbrook, M. D., is established in the practice of his profes- sion at Hattiesburg, Perry county, and his services and ability are such as to well uphold the high standard of the med- ical fraternity in that section of the State. He was born in Carthage, Leake county, Miss., Sept. 3, 1862, and follows the same vocation as did his honored father, Dr. Hector H. Howard, who was born in the State of Vermont but who passed the greater portion of his life in Mississippi, having been for many years one of the leading medical practitioners of Leake county. His wife, whose maiden name was Susan A. Slaughter, was born in Alabama. Dr. Howard com- pleted the curriculum of the public schools, including the high school in his native town, and for the purpose of fitting himself for the exacting and responsible work of his profession, which touches the very issues of life itself, he entered the medical department of Tulane university, in the city of New Orleans, in which institution he received his degree of Doctor of Medicine, having been grad- uated as a member of the class of 1891. He began the practice of his profession in Carthage, Miss., his native town, and in his labors there set at naught all application of the proverb that a prophet is not without honor save in his own country, for his success was pronounced and his support of a representative character, which facts stand good as touching his labors in his newer field of en- deavor, his establishing of his home and professional headquarters in Hattiesburg dating back to Feb. 11, 1901. He holds member- ship in the Mississippi State medical society and also in that of
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Perry county. The principles of the Democratic party have the un- qualified support of Dr. Howard, and he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen of the World and the Knights of Honor. On Nov. 28, 1888, Dr. Howard wedded Miss Vallie Smythe, daughter of Daniel L. and Emma B. (Oldham) Smythe, of Kosciusko, Miss., and they became the parents of three children, of whom two are living-Louis Holbrook, Jr., and Hector Smythe. David Lafayette, the second in order of birth, died in infancy.
Hull, William S., architect and in- ventor, of Jackson, is a native of that city. He was born April 3, 1848, and is a son of John T. and Anna M. (Blair) Hull, the former a native of Belfast, Ire- land, and the latter of Monticello, Miss. Both parents died at Jackson. William S. Hull attended the Jackson schools. From 1865 to 1873 he was with the South- western and the Western Union Tele- graph Companies as an operator. In 1876 he formed a partnership with his brother, under the firm name of F. B. & W. S. Hull, to design and erect public buildings. This partnership existed until the fall of 1904, and during the twenty-four years operated in five of the Southern States, building a large number of jails, court houses and other public buildings, operating brick-yards, sawmills and stone quarries, etc. In 1887 Mr. Hull was admitted as a fellow of the American Institute of Architects. His work in that line is known all through the southwest, and is distinguished by a close adherence to classic forms, which he has always faithfully observed in drawing his designs. As an inventor he has originated, patented and brought into use a large number of improved appliances in building con- struction. Since 1874 he has been a persistent experimenter in the field of aerial navigation. In December, 1877, in a lecture delivered in the hall of the house of representatives, he propounded the law "That successful navigation of the air depends upon the sustaining planes being moving planes, and the swifter the movement the better the result." This theory is in opposition to the balloon or stationary aeroplane method with propelling auxiliaries. During the years 1875-76 he built and successfully operated 10,000 flying models of different sizes and types, many of which soared beyond the range of vision. In 1877-78 he constructed and operated a pleasure boat on Pearl river, the propeller of the boat working in the air instead of in the water. He invented, patented and put on the market the first flying toy in which the motive and lifting power was furnished by a spring instead of gas, and in 1894, in Colbert county, Ala., he made the first flying-machine in which a man, standing in the machine, raised both it and himself, with no other force than his own muscular strength. Mr. Hull has always taken
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an appreciative interest in public matters and has ever stood ready to assist in furthering those movements tending to promote the general good. He participated in the organization of the first city government for Sheffield, Ala .; was for five years an alderman and chairman of the finance committee; was appointed by President Harrison one of the United States commissioners representing Ala- bama in the Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the National Union and in both of these orders he has shown the true fraternal spirit, exercis- ing the tenets of friendship, charity and benevolence in all his dealings with his fellow men.
Haley, Jesse Lee, a wealthy land owner and business man of Itta Bena, was born at Columbia, Maury county, Tenn., Dec. 22, 1857. He is a son of Washington and Rebecca Ann Haley, the former born on Jan. 15, 1816, and the latter on Dec. 8, 1822. The father was an ardent advocate of the cause of the Confederacy, but an affliction of deafness prevented his active participation in the army of the South. The subject of this memoir had very little opportunity to attend school, his scho- lastic advantages being limited to four months' training in the common schools of his native county. At the age of ten years he left home and has ever since made his own living. He came to Mississippi in 1875 and obtained employment picking cotton by the hundred pounds. The following season he raised a crop on shares, making sufficient money at it to enable him to lease a small tract and raise a crop of his own. Subsequently he purchased a farm and from year to year added to it until now he is the owner of more than 10,000 acres of land. The Itta Bena plantation, com- prising 6,000 acres, and one of the finest in the Yazoo delta, is the property of Mr. Haley. Beside his property holdings he has other large and varied interests, among them the presidency and manager- ship of the Itta Bena Cotton Oil Company, the Itta Bena Mercantile Company and the electric light plant. He is a heavy stockholder in a large banking concern, owns and operates ten miles of railroad and is the proprietor of one of the largest saw mills for the manu- facture of hardwood lumber in the country. Mr. Haley is a stanch exponent of the principles of the Democratic party. As the success- ful candidate of that party he served one term in the early eighties as county assessor. Subsequently he was supervisor and for four years was the sheriff of his county. In religious matters he is iden- tified with the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he has been a member since early manhood. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. On Jan. 27, 1878, was solemnized Mr. Haley's marriage to Mrs. Mattie E. Parker, a widow, and a daughter of Capt. N. A.
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and Sarah S. (Denman) Blount of Winona, Miss. Mrs. Haley's father rendered distinguished service in the Southern army during the Civil war, being a captain in that army at the time of his death in 1863. To Mr. and Mrs. Haley have been born three children. The eldest, Myna Lou, is now the wife of J. H. Halloman, and the others are Rebecca Ann and Jesse Lee, Jr. Mr. Haley started life with no assets but ambition and determination, and by his own efforts has attained a high place in the business and financial circles of the State.
Haley, Percy Edward, is one of the popular young business men of Flora, Madison county, where he is incumbent of the responsible position of cashier of the Bank of Flora. Mr. Haley is native of the State of Mississippi, where his entire life has been passed. He was born in Hazlehurst, Copiah county, July 10, 1879, and is a son of William C. and Clara (Dodds) Haley, both of whom were likewise born in Copiah county, where the father is a prosperous accountant and planter and prominent citizen. Mr. Haley was educated in the schools of his native town. At the age of seventeen years he entered the employ of the Mississippi Cotton Oil Company, and about eigh- teen months later became bookkeeper and office man in the oil mill at Hazlehurst, where he remained five years. At the expiration of that period he came to Flora, where he has since rendered most efficient service as cashier of the Bank of Flora. Mr. Haley is a loyal supporter of the cause of the Democratic party, is a member of the Baptist church, and is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Hamilton, Joel G., a retired citizen of Durant, was born March 27, 1834, in Holmes county near Durant. He is a son of John and Sarah (McGraw) Hamil- ton, both natives of Abbeville, S. C., the former born in 1796 and the latter in 1798. The grandfathers were Alexander Hamilton, of Scotch descent, and Nathan McGraw, whose ancestors hailed from the Emerald Isle. Both were participants in the Revolutionary war as members of the Continental army, McGraw serving as a major and Hamilton as a captain. Both families moved from South Carolina at an early date to Humphreys county, Tenn., where they located on Duck river. After twenty-three years they went to Pike county, Miss., and ten years later John and Sarah (McGraw) Hamilton settled in Holmes county. It was here that Joel G. Hamilton, the subject of this sketch, was born. His early education was such as afforded by the common schools of the time, a rather limited training as it was frequently necessary to go many miles to attend the sessions. Later, academies and colleges were established in different portions of the State, among the latter an institution at Sharon, Madison county. At the head of it was Dr.
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T. C. Thornton, a man of fine scholarly attainments and great execu- tive ability, who was assisted by an able corps of instructors, and at this institution young Hamilton took two years of scholastic work, leaving to matriculate at Emory and Henry college at Emory, Va. At the end of three years, in 1859, he graduated and returned to Durant. There for two years he was engaged in pedagogic work. On Jan. 9, 1861, Mississippi withdrew from the Union by the adop- tion of the act of secession and the sombre cloud of war which had already appeared on the horizon of national unity daily became larger and darker. Mr. Hamilton enlisted early in the struggle in the Nelson Grays, an organization which eventually became Com- pany G of the Fourth Mississippi infantry, of the Confederate army. The regiment was brigaded at Grenada and ordered from there to Union City, Tenn., whence it was moved to become a part of the garrison of Fort Henry on the Tennessee river. After Foote with his gunboats had forced a passage past the batteries of the fort on Feb. 6, 1862, the Fourth Mississippi with the rest of the infantry retreated to Fort Donelson and there fought with distinction until the surrender of that post to General Grant. The prisoners were placed on transports and sent to St. Louis, and after two days in which the transports were anchored in the middle of the river, the commissioned officers were sent to Camp Chase, near Columbus, Ohio, and the others to Indianapolis, Ind. Subsequently the officers were removed to Johnson's island in Lake Erie, and were there con- fined for a period of eight months. At the end of that time an ex- change of prisoners was agreed upon and the Confederates were taken to Vicksburg, where the exchange was consummated. On the passage down the Mississippi river many of the prisoners suc- cumbed to exposure and disease incurred by the drinking of river water and by the excessive heat. Upon returning to the confed- erate service Lieutenant Hamilton entered a different branch, be- coming identified with Wofford's battery, a company of Wither's First Mississippi light artillery. He participated in the battle of Champion's Hill or Baker's Creek and two days later, when Grant had invested Vicksburg, he was made adjutant, by appointment, of Baldwin's brigade and served in that capacity throughout the forty-seven days and nights of the investment. All the hardships of that memorable struggle about Vicksburg-excessive heat, scant rations of mule meat and ground peas, drinking water from the river-were borne by Adjutant Hamilton with the same fortitude and cheerfulness that characterized the remainder of the beleagured army and made it possible for them to hold out for so long a period as they did. On the first day of the bombardment his horse was shot from under him and this was but an incident of the many which befell. When Vicksburg fell his battery was sent to the parole camp at Enterprise and there remained until his exchange was ef- fected. Then he went to Mobile, and shortly after arriving there was chosen junior first lieutenant of Wofford's battery. He was given charge of a picket boat used in guarding the inlets and bayous of Mobile bay, and subsequently was placed in command of a bat-
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tery situated in the main channel leading to the city. There he remained until the surrender of Lee and Johnston blasted the hopes of a Southern Confederacy. After the cessation of hostilities he returned to his home and with others put his best endeavors into the rebuilding of the wrecked homes, restoring desolated farms and the re-establishment of civil government. In the re-adjustment of these affairs he was always prominent, especially in the organiza- tion and establishment of a new free school system made necessary by changed conditions, having been appointed a school director soon after the close of the great internal struggle. For more than half a century he has been a zealous and influential member of the Methodist church, South, and has served for many years as a lay delegate to the conferences of his church. The North Mississippi conference selected him as its delegate to the great missionary con- vention held in New Orleans in 1901 and in 1906 he served in a like capacity at the general Methodist conference at Birmingham, Ala. He has always given unqualified allegiance to the Democratic party and has had numerous honors conferred upon him by that party. For twelve years he was an able and influential member of the upper house of the State legislature and in 1872 was one of Mississippi's delegates at the national Democratic convention at Cincinnati, Ohio, which nominated Horace Greeley for president of the United States. In 1890 he was one of the delegates to the Mississippi State Constitutional convention. On Jan. 9, 1861, the day on which Mississippi withdrew from the Union, Mr. Hamilton was united in marriage to Miss Emma Victoria Lockhart, a daughter of Thomas and Minerva Lockhart. After an active, useful career Mr. Hamilton has retired from participation in business and now makes his home amid the scenes of his usefulness, respected and honored by all and crowned by the glory of an unsullied life.
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