USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III > Part 58
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close of the war, having enlisted in 1862. He is unwavering in his advocacy of the principles of the Democratic party but has never sought the honors of public office. He was formerly affiliated in an active way with the Masonic fraternity, and for more than thirty years has been a zealous member of the Baptist church, of which Mrs. Meriwether also has been a devoted member since 1848. In the year 1851 Mr. Meriwether was united in marriage to Miss Lucy. Johnson, daughter of J. W. and Sarah (Glenn) Johnson, representa- tives of old Virginia families, the former of whom became a success- ful planter in Georgia, where both he and his wife resided until death. Mrs. Meriwether was born in Georgia, Nov. 18, 1833. Following is a brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Meriwether : Mildred is the wife of J. T. Gabbet, of Senatobia, a successful mer- chant and farmer; Berta is the wife of Travis H. Taylor, who is men- tioned elsewhere in this work; Lucille is the wife of N. R. Sledge, who likewise is represented individually in this work; James O., Jr., who married Miss Bessie Smith, is a farmer of Tate county; W. J., who married Miss Anna Grady, is deceased and Thomas W., is in the employ of the Illinois Central railroad.
Miller, William, H., of Vicksburg, Miss., was born in Vicksburg, July 6, 1864. He is the son of William H. and Catherine (Saxton) Miller, both of whom were na- tives of Ireland. His father was a soldier in the Confederate army. He was edu- cated at the Christian Brothers' school in Vicksburg and later was a clerk for the firm of M. Brady & Sons for several years, afterward becoming a wholesale grocer. In 1904 he was elected to the board of aldermen of Vicksburg. He is a member of the Catholic church of which he is a trustee and of the fraternal orders of Knights of Columbus and Woodmen of the World; is director of the Merchants Produce Company and mem- ber of the Southern Wholesale Grocery Company. He is also sole proprietor of the W. H. Miller Grocery Company. In 1892 Mr. Miller was married to Miss Marie Louise Geiger of New Orleans. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have three children-Evaline, Madaline and Burnedett.
Miller, David M., of Hazlehurst, Copiah county, is one of the able legists and jurists of the State and is now presiding on the bench of the Seventh judicial circuit. Judge Miller was born in the city which is now his home, the date of his nativity having been Oct. 25, 1862. He is a son of Warren and Margaret (Cogdell) Miller, the former of whom was born in Louisiana and the latter in South Carolina. The father's lineage traces back to Irish origin and that of the mother to French. After completing the curriculum of the common schools Judge Miller was matriculated in Mississippi col- lege, the celebrated old institution at Clinton, and there was gradu-
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ated with honors as a member of the class of 1887, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then began the study of law, in the office of James S. Sexton of Hazlehurst, and was admitted to the bar in 1889. He forthwith established himself in the general prac- tice of his profession in Hazlehurst, his novitiate being of brief dura- tion, since he soon built up a representative and lucrative practice and gained precedence as an able attorney and counselor. In Sep- tember, 1904, he was appointed judge of the Seventh judicial district, and he has made an excellent record on the bench, having a broad and comprehensive knowledge of the law and showing true judicial discrimination and acumen. He is one of the leaders of the Democ- racy in this section of the State, and was a presidential elector on the party ticket in 1896, also having the distinction of carrying the vote of the State to the national capital. He is largely interested in farming and banking and is also identified with mercantile enter- prises in his home county. His genial personality and his manifest integrity of purpose in all the relations of life have gained and re- tained to him the confidence and respect of all with whom he has come in contact. In 1893 Judge Miller was united in marriage to Miss Florence Woolfolk, and after her death he wedded, in 1897, Miss Georgia Nicholson, who was born and reared in Virginia, being a daughter of Charles H. Nicholson. They have two children, Samuel W., and Margaret Preston, aged respectively seven and five years.
Miller, William C., the honored mayor of Woodville, has held this office for more than fifteen consecutive years and he has also served in other positions of public trust and responsibility. He has passed his entire life in Wilkinson county, having been born in Woodville, April 28, 1837, and being a son of James M. and Frances A. (Smith) Miller, the former of whom was born in Augusta, Ky., of German ancestry, and the latter of whom was born in Wilkinson county, Miss., of Scotch lineage. To the schools of his native county Mr. Miller is indebted for his early educational discipline, and he has been identified with various lines of business enterprise in this county. From 1868 to 1870 he served as deputy sheriff of the county, and in the latter year he was appointed circuit clerk. In 1871 he was elected chancery clerk continuing incumbent of this office until 1880, when he was elected sheriff serving one term. In 1885 he was appointed deputy circuit clerk, serving in that capacity until 1891, when he was elected mayor of Woodville, of which office he has since remained continuously in tenure, by successive re-elections. That he has proven a most able and popular head of the municipal govern- ment needs no further voucher than that afforded in his protracted incumbency of the office. Both he and. his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, South. He has the distinction
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of being the oldest member of Woodville Lodge, No. 63, Free and Accepted Masons, with which he has been affiliated since 1863. In 1859 Mr. Miller was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Murphy, daughter of John Murphy, of Arkansas and they have one child, Mrs. Fannie A. Floyd.
Millsaps, Uriah, who died at his home in Hazlehurst, Copiah county, Jan. 9, 1897, merits more than cursory recogni- tion in this work, by reason of his high standing as a man, a lawyer and a jurist. His was a distinct and powerful person- ality and its impress was ever exerted for good. He stood as a type of the Southern gentleman of the old regime, courtly, dignified and of fine physique, and he was a scion of one of the old and honored families of Mississippi. He was born in Pleasant Valley, Copiah county, Miss., in January, 1828, being a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Holliday) Millsaps, the former of whom was born in Pendleton district, S. C., Jan. 1, 1799, and the latter of whom was born in Georgia, about 1804. Both came with
their respective parents to Mississippi in an early day, and in Copiah county their marriage was solemnized, about 1824. In the forest near the waters of Bayou Pierre, this county, Thomas Millsaps re- claimed and otherwise improved a fine plantation. and there he lived until his death, which occurred in 1882. His first wife died in 1841; and he later married Mrs. Hannah Griffith, of Covington county. Of the first marriage were born three sons and three daughters, and of the number only two are now living. His father, William Millsaps, came to Mississippi from South Carolina about 1810, first locating in Perry county, whence he removed to Copiah county about 1823, here continuing to reside until his death, about ten years later, and having been a successful planter. His father, Thomas Millsaps, was a native of Ireland and was the original progenitor of the family as represented in Mississippi at the present day. Judge Uriah Mill- saps, the subject of this memoir, was afforded the advantages of Hanover college, at Hanover, Ind., and later attended the Central University of Kentucky, at Danville, in which institution he was graduated. He began the study of law in Jackson, Miss., after leav- ing college, having as his preceptor Judge Daniel Mayes, and he was admitted to the bar of his native State in 1854. He began the prac- tice of his profession at Gallatin, which was then the capital of Copiah county, and there he continued his labors until he responded to the call of higher duty and went forth to aid in upholding the cause of the Confederacy. In 1862 he enlisted as a private in a regiment of Mississippi cavalry, but later he recruited a company of which he eventually became captain, his command having been assigned to the army of the West, in which he served until the close of the war, having proved a gallant soldier and able commanding officer. After
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the war Judge Millsaps resumed the practice of law at Gallatin, where he entered into partnership with Hon. Benjamin King, one of the distinguished members of the Mississippi bar. He soon attained to high rank in his profession and his legal acumen and mature judg- ment marked him for judicial honors. In 1869 he was appointed judge of the Fifth judicial circuit, remaining on the bench two terms, or eight years, and making a record which dignified the office which he thus held. During his term on the bench he traveled over the greater portion of southern Mississippi, his district at the time having comprised Copiah, Simpson, Lawrence, Claiborne, Jefferson, Lincoln and Rankin counties. Senator McLaurin began practice under him while presiding on the bench and later became district attorney under his jurisdiction. Within his incumbency the county seat of Copiah county was removed to Hazlehurst, and he took up his resi- dence there, continuing to make this his home until his death. He retired from the bench in 1876, and thereafter followed the work of his profession, in which his reputation grew apace, placing him among the foremost legists of the State. He eventually retired from practice, being succeeded by his eldest son, Henry T., who has since admirably upheld the prestige of the honored name which he bears, being one of the representative lawyers of the bar of Copiah county and a graduate of the law department of the University of Missis- sippi. After his retirement from practice Judge Millsaps gave his attention principally to the supervision of his extensive real estate and capitalistic interests, having been one of the largest land owners in Copiah county at the time of his demise. During the later years of his life he gave his allegiance to the Republican party; he was a member of the lodge and chapter of the Masonic fraternity, and both he and his wife were zealous members of the Methodist church, South. In 1856 was solemnized the marriage of Judge Millsaps to Miss Sarah A. Lewis, who was born in Copiah county, being a daughter of Bryant and Martha (Cherry) Lewis, sterling citizens of this section of the State, whence the father came from South Carolina. She died April 13, 1900. Judge and Mrs. Millsaps became the parents of seven children, concerning whom the following brief data are entered: Annie is the widow of W. Erwin Lewis, and re- sides in Hazlehurst; Eulah, who became the wife of Frederick N. Baker, is now deceased; Henry T. is engaged in the practice of law in Hazlehurst, as already stated; Uriah L., is engaged in the cotton business in the city of Jackson; Sally is postmaster at Hazlehurst; Webster is engaged in the practice of law in Hazlehurst, being a twin of Mary, who likewise remains at the old home.
Minor, Henry Augustine, M. D., of Macon, Miss., is the Nestor of the medical profession in Noxubee county and stands as one of the leading physicians and surgeons of this section of the State, where he is well known and where his circle of friends is limited only by that of his acquaintances. Dr. Minor was born in Limestone county, Ala., Feb. 25, 1835, and is a son of Dr. William T. and of his wife Fannie (Washington) Minor, both of whom were born in the State of Virginia, the former Jan. 8, 1797, and the latter in 1804. Both
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died in Morgan county, Ala., the father dying in July, 1854, and the mother in 1881. Dr. William T. Minor was a classical scholar, a life-long student and indefatigable practitioner of medicine to within a few day of his death. He was a soldier in the War of 1812 while still a mere youth. His brother, John B., was professor of law in the University of Virginia for half a century, and another brother, Lucion, was professor of law in Williamsburg college, Virginia. The ancestors of the Minor family came from England to Virginia with Lord Fairfax. Mrs. Fannie (Washington) Minor, mother of the doctor, was a daughter of Henry Washington, a brother of Gen. William Washington, who were cousins to George Washington, on whose staff William Washington served with the rank of brigadier- general, after his distinguished kinsman was elected to the presi- dency of the United States. He had served most valiantly in the War of the Revolution, in having commanded a body of cavalry, which General Washington sent South to assist Generals Greene, Marion and Sumter. Dr. Henry A. Minor was reared in Alabama and after due preliminary training he entered LaGrange college, Alabama, where he completed a partial course, after which he took up the work of preparing himself for his chosen profession. In 1857 he was graduated in the medical department of the University of Virginia and duly received his degree of Doctor of Medicine. In 1885 he took a post-graduate course in the Post-Graduate medical college, of New York city, and in all the long years of his active and successful labors as a physician he has striven to keep abreast of the advances made in his profession. Immediately after his graduation Dr. Minor engaged in practice at Decatur, Ala., where he remained two years. At the expiration of which time (in 1859), he removed to Macon, Miss., where he has since resided and practiced his pro- fession save for the period of four years' service in the war between the States. His work as surgeon in the war was of great value to him in a professional way and he has long been recognized as a capa- ble and painstaking surgeon. He is today the oldest practitioner, in point of years of consecutive practice, in Noxubee county. On April 29, 1861, Dr. Minor enlisted as a private in the Noxubee Rifles, which command was mustered into the Confederate service as Com- pany F, Eleventh Mississippi infantry. He was seriously wounded . in the first battle of Manassas, and after partial recovery from his wound was commissioned assistant surgeon and was assigned to the Nineteenth Mississippi infantry, army of northern Virginia. In February, 1862, he received his commission as full surgeon, and there- after he served with the Ninth Alabama infantry in the army of northern Virginia until the close of the war. He was with his regi- ment in all the battles in which it participated from the first battle of Manassas to the surrender at Appomattox. After the battle of Get- tysburg he was ordered to remain on the field and take charge of the wounded of the division (R. H. Anderson's). He remained there in charge of his wounded until about the middle of November, when he was sent to prison at Fort McHenry. He was with Lee's army at the surrender at Appomattox Court House, where he received his
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parole, April 9, 1865. He has ever retained a great respect for General Grant on account of the courtesy shown by him to the Con- federate soldiers on this memorable occasion. For many years he has been commander of Noxubee Camp, No. 1326, United Confed- erate Veterans. In politics he gives his allegiance to the Democratic party and both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist church. On Nov. 16, 1865, Dr. Minor was united in marriage to Mrs. Mary A. (Dent) Kimball, a niece of General Longstreet. She died Feb. 22, 1883. Six children were born of this union, namely : Anna, who is the wife of State Senator Albert T. Dent, of Macon, Miss .; H. Dent, who is engaged in the practice of law in Memphis, Tenn .; Fannie, who is the wife of Thos. P. Crymes, of Hattiesburg, Miss :; Henry A., Jr., who is a member of the bar of Jackson, Miss .; Dr. Lancelot, who is engaged in the practice of medicine at Holly -. wood, Miss., and a son who died in infancy. On Nov. 28; 1883, Dr. Minor was married to Mrs. Ellen R. Baechtel. No children have been born of this marriage. The doctor is a member of the Missis- sippi medical association, of which he once served as president, and also holds membership in the Noxubee county medical society. He is a Mason and an Odd Fellow.
Mississippi Heights Academy, The, at Blue Mountain, Tippah county, is a valuable acquisition in connection with the educational facilities of Mississippi, and such is its province and such is its func- tions that it is rapidly being brought forward to a position of promi- nence among the leading institutions of the sort in the State. The school was established in 1904, and the building at present utilized is a substantial brick structure which was erected for the use of the academy, being two stories in height and having three class and study rooms, while the plan of the building provides for the addition of three more rooms and for the accommodation of 150 students, the academy being specifically a school for boys and young men. Marked success has attended the institution from the time of its opening, and the enrollment for the year 1905 was seventy-five stu- dents while the corps of instructors numbers three,. each well equip- ped for the work assigned, while the president of the academy is Prof. J. E. Brown, who is recognized as one of the leading educators of the State. Prior to accepting his present office President Brown was superintendent of the public schools at New Albany, Union county, where he brought about the grading of the schools and thoroughly systematized their work. Still earlier he was engaged in teaching at Foster, Copiah county, and in the Iuka normal institute, which latter is his alma mater, since he was there graduated as a member of the class of 1888. He was born in Tishomingo county, Miss., and is a son of Capt. John B. Brown, who died in Iuka, this State, where he was engaged in mercantile pursuits for a term of thirty- four years. He served as captain of a Mississippi company during the entire course of the Civil war, his regiment serving for the greater portion of the time under General Forrest. Robert Brown, grand- father of him whose name initiates this paragraph, came to Mis- sissippi from Anderson, S. C., in the year 1840. The lineage is traced
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back to stanch Irish extraction, the original progenitor of the line having immigrated from the Emerald Isle to America in the year 1770. The maiden name of President Brown's mother was Eliza- beth Akers, and she was a daughter of Hon. Jackson Akers, of Iuka, Miss., who was a member of the State legislature for several terms. In a fraternal way Professor Brown is identified with the Knights of Pythias and the Masonic order. He is a stanch Democrat in poli- tics. In his work as a teacher he has shown marked administrative talent and is an excellent disciplinarian, while he gains and retains the respect and confidence of his students. In the institution with which he is now identified he is instructor in the sciences in addition to attending to his executive duties as president. He has made an excellent reputation in the educational field, and is at the present time a member of the State committee selected to formulate plans for the systematizing and governing of the county schools, qualifying of teachers, etc. President Brown married Miss Ada Garrow, daugh- ter of Nathaniel Garrow, of Liberty, Miss., who was a valiant soldier in the Confederate army and who served for a score of years as chan- cery clerk of Amite county. President and Mrs. Brown have three children-Annie, Natalie and Edwin.
Mitchell, George S., of New Albany, is the owner of one of the valuable planta- tions of Union county, and a considerable portion of the same lies within the corpo- rate limits of New Albany. He now gives his attention largely to his plantation and stock-growing interests, having formerly been engaged in the mercantile and cotton business in New Albany. He is a repre- sentative of one of the old and honored families, and was born near New Albany, July 28, 1847. His father, Dr. Charles G. Mitchell, came to Union county from Bowling Green, Ky., about 1845. He was graduated in a medical college at Nash- ville, Tenn., and he became one of the leading physicians and sur- geons of Union county, where he was engaged in practice for more than a score of years. He died in 1893, at the age of seventy-five years. He was surgeon for the army and was in the commissary department of the Confederate service in the Civil war, and was a citizen who ever commanded unqualified confidence and esteem. He was one of the first masters of the Masonic lodge of New Albany. His wife, whose maiden name was Fannie Elizabeth Blackwell, was a daughter of Gen. Nicholas Blackwell, who came to this State from Tennessee and who served in the early Indian wars. Mrs. Mitchell died in 1851. The subject of this review was reared and educated in Union county and the Cecillin college in Kentucky; and in the last year of the Civil war, when but seventeen years of age, he en- listed in the Second Mississippi cavalry, with which he remained in active service until the final surrender. For many years after the
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war he was one of the leading merchants and cotton buyers of New Albany, and since his retirement from these lines of enterprise he has found ample scope for the exercise of his abilities in the manage- ment of his extensive plantation interests, also being one of the promi- nent growers of high-grade live stock in this section of the State. He is a loyal adherent of the Democratic party, is identified with the Masonic fraternity, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Baptist church. In 1872 Mr. Mitchell was united in marriage to Miss Martha R. Bond, daughter of Hon. Charles T. Bond, who was one of Union county's most prominent and influential citizens. He was a successful merchant in New Albany for many years. He came to Mississippi from Georgia and was one of those most promi- nently concerned in the organization of Union county. He wielded distinctive power in public affairs and was a citizen who ever com- manded the highest confidence and regard. He represented the county in the State legislature and was a member of the reconstruc- tion convention after the Civil war. He accumulated a large fortune and was ever mindful of the duties and responsibilities which such success involves. He died in 1872, at the age of fifty-five years. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell have six children: Charles T. is a lawyer by profession and is engaged in practice in Indian Territory; George B. is a buyer and shipper of cotton in New Albany; Mark L. is a suc- cessful planter of this place; Louie N. is a student in the University of Mississippi; Fannie B. attended the Industrial institute and col- lege at Columbus and is now attending the State university at Ox- ford and Ethel is a student in the New Albany schools.
Miller, William Jones, of Batesville, Miss., was born June 26, 1856, . at Spartanburg. S. C., and is the son of Pinkney W. Miller and Isa- bella (Young) Miller. His father removed from South Carolina to Panola county, Miss., about 1856, and was a practicing physician in that county until his death in 1888. Mr. Miller attended the public schools of Batesville, Miss., under the instruction of Lieut .- Gov. G. D. Shands and Thomas Winterton. He entered the Uni- versity of Tennessee at Knoxville, but was not graduated. He was sheriff of Panola county for six years, beginning in 1889; was clerk in the auditor's office under the administration of Hon. W. Q. Cole from 1900 to 1904, and was elected state treasurer, Nov. 3, 1903. Mr. Miller is a member of the Presbyterian church and of the frater- nal orders of Knights of Pythias, Knights of Honor, Masonic frater- nity and Elks. He was married Jan. 15, 1880, to Miss Lulu Smith, daughter of S. S. Smith of Batesville. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have seven children-Mabel (Miller) Ward, Elizabeth (Miller) Hamilton, Emma, Kate, Margurete, Robert and Oliver.
Mitchell, George T., of Tupelo, is the present able incumbent of the office of district attorney of Lee county, and as a member of the bar of his native State he is well upholding the high prestige gained by his honored father, the late Hon. Charles B. Mitchell, of whom specific mention is made in this work. Mr. Mitchell was born in Pontotoc, Miss., Sept. 1, 1874, and in this place his boyhood days were passed. After attending the public schools he continued his 33-III
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studies in the Webb school at Bellbuckle, Tenn., and the Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical college, at Starkville. He then en- tered the law department of the University of Mississippi, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1895, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In 1897 he took a special post-graduate course in the law department of the celebrated University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor. Mr. Mitchell was admitted to the bar of Mississippi in September, 1895, and forthwith began the practice of his profes- sion in the city of Pontotoc, where he was associated in practice with his father until the death of the latter, in 1899. He then en- tered into a professional partnership with R. V. Fletcher, now assist- ant attorney-general of the State, and this alliance continued until August, 1904. In February of the following year Mr. Mitchell re- moved to the city of Tupelo and he has been district attorney of Lee county since February of that year. He has proven a most skillful and popular public prosecutor and is recognized as one of the able members of the bar of his native State. His political allegi- ance is accorded unreservedly to the Democratic party and he and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian church. He is affili- ated with the Masonic fraternity, Knights of Pythias, Woodmen of the World, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. On Nov. 17, 1897, Mr. Mitchell was united in marriage to Miss Jennie P. Summers, daughter of John C. and Nannie (Preston) Summers, of Abingdon, Va. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell have two children, Vir- ginia Dennis and Charles Baldwin.
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