USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III > Part 66
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McGowen, James G., of Watervalley, who represents Yalobusha county in the lower house of the Mississippi legislature, was born in DeSoto county, Miss., Sept. 19, 1870. He is a son of James G. Mc- Gowen, Sr., born at Lafayette Springs, Lafayette county, Miss., in 1843, and Mary (Dean) McGowen, born in Noxubee county, Miss., in 1848. The father enlisted in the Horn Lake guards of the Con- federate army, being a private in Capt. John W. Foster's Company F, and served with the regiment throughout the war under General Chalmers. He was mustered out as a captain. The subject of this sketch attended the common schools of DeSoto county, fitting himself there for a collegiate course. He then matriculated at the University of Mississippi and was the first lawyer admitted to prac- tice under the new code of 1893. He located at Watervalley and has been most successfully engaged in the practice of his profession there ever since his admission to the bar. In politics he is one of the stanchest of Democrats, and as the candidate of his party was elected to the house of representatives of the Mississippi legislature in 1903. The only fraternal organization of which he is a member is the Knights of Pythias. He is now the incumbent of the office of president of the bar association of Yalobusha county. On Nov. 8, 1893 Mr. McGowen was united in marriage to Miss Lucia Rich- mond, daughter of Dr. D. S. and Sue (Randall) Richmond of DeSoto, Miss. To this union have been born three children: James, Hardy and Marian. The family are all devout and conscientious members.
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of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which the father is on the conference board of missions and the board of stewards.
Mc Whorter, M. D., M. D., may properly be designated the dean of his profession in Union county, having been engaged in active practice at Blue Springs for nearly half a century. Dr. McWhorter was born in Lawrence county, Ala., in 1835, being a son of Cyrus A. and Ruth (Estel) Mc- Whorter, who came to Union county in 1840, at which time the doctor was a child of five years. The father was one of the pioneer planters of the county and was a man of sterling character. He served under General Jackson in the Creek Indian war. He and his wife be- came the parents of nine sons and four M. D. M'WHORTER, M. D. daughters, concerning whom brief record is here entered: William removed to Texas, where he still resides, as does also James H., the next in order of birth, who was a soldier of the Confederacy in the Civil war, having served under Gen. Samuel Johnston, and having been lieutenant in his company. Dr. Benja- min F., was one of the able and honored physicians of Union county and was associated in practice with the subject of this sketch for many years,-up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1889. He attended college at LaGrange, Ala., and later was gradu- ated in the Kentucky School of Medicine, in Louisville, and began the practice of his profession in Union county in 1853, here passing the remainder of his life. Before the division of the two counties he represented Pontotoc county in the State legislature for two terms and later was Union county's representative in the same body for two terms. In the Civil war he was captain of Company K, Thirty- first Mississippi infantry. He married Miss May Gould, daughter of Robert Gould, and they became the parents of SARAH F. M'WHORTER seven children, of whom five are living. After the death of his first wife Dr. Benjamin F. McWhorter married Miss Margaret J. Level, and they had one son and one daughter, both of whom are living, as is also the mother. Capt. Samuel W. McWhorter was captain of a company in the Twenty-third Mississippi infantry in the Civil war, was captured by the Union men and was imprisoned on Johnston's island, in Lake Erie, where he died. John McWhorter, who died in Lamar county, Tex., served throughout the Civil war, as a mem- ber of the Thirty-first Mississippi infantry. The subject of this sketch was the next in order of birth. Harrison McWhorter was a
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member of the Thirty-first Mississippi infantry and was killed in an engagement at Baton Rouge, La. Concerning the daughters it may be said that Telethia is the wife of F. E. Stephenson, of Union county; Angelina is the wife of James Strain, and Jane the wife of John Strain, both prosperous farmers of Union county; and Ruth is the wife of Hon. John P. Robinson, of Blue Springs. Dr. M. D. McWhorter, the immediate subject of this review, was afforded the advantages of the common schools of Union county, passing his youth on the home plantation. He attended college at LaGrange, Ala., and later entered the New Orleans School of Medicine, now the medical department of Tulane university, from which he gradu- ated in 1858, receiving his well earned degree of Doctor of Medicine, and forthwith engaging in the practice of his profession in Blue Springs, where he has since continued to live and labor, and where he is held in affectionate regard in very many of the best homes of this section, for he has ministered to the afflicted with all of ability and sympathy and has been most successful in his humane profession. He is a member of the State medical association of Mississippi, is a stalwart supporter of the principles of the Demo- cratic party, and is a citizen who commands unqualified confidence and esteem. Dr. McWhorter was united in marriage to Miss Sarah F. Gould, daughter of Robert Gould, who was a representative citi- zen of Union county, and the two children of this union are Samuel M., who is a graduate of the University of Mississippi and who is now a resident of the city of Memphis, Tenn., and Cyrus, who is engaged in agricultural pursuits, being a successful planter of Union county.
Mclemore, R. S., M. D., who for a num- ber of years past lived retired in the at- tractive little city of Greenwood, Leflore county, was long known as one of the able and successful physicians of his na- tive State, while he was a representative of one of the honored pioneer families of Mississippi, which it was his to repre- sent as a Confederate soldier during the Civil war. Dr. Mclemore was born in Alabama Aug. 28, 1837, and is a son of Col. John and Elizabeth (Marr) McLe- more, native respectively of Tennessee and Alabama and both of sterling Scot- tish ancestry. They passed the greater portion of their lives in Carroll county, Miss., where the father was an extensive planter and a citizen of wealth and influence. Dr. Mc- Lemore completed his more purely academic education in the Uni- versity of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill, being there graduated as a member of the class of 1857, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in Company A, First Mississippi cavalry, and did yeoman service in the Confederate cause during the entire course of the war, while from 1862 to 1865 inclusive, he was principally engaged in scouting duty. After the
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close 'of the war he entered the New Orleans medical college, being there graduated, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, in 1872, while he later took special post graduate work in the city of Atlanta. The doctor first came to Greenwood as early as 1847 and since the war made his home in the delta district of the Yazoo river with the exception of a period of about three years. He began the practice of his profession in Minter City, Leflore county, and followed the work of the active physician and surgeon until 1900, when he re- tired, giving his supervision to his various capitalistic interests until his death which occurred on Nov. 26, 1905, while he had a most at- tractive residence property in the city of Greenwood. At one time he owned more than 2,000 acres of land in this section, but sold all except a fine plantation of 300 acres. The doctor traveled exten- sively and passed considerable time in Texas where he met with distinctive success in various business operations to which he turned his attention. Dr. Mclemore was ever a stanch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party, but never sought the honors of public office of any description. In 1859 was solemnized the marriage of Dr. McLemore to Miss Marian E. Gibson, daughter of Col. I. S. and Mary (Geren) Gibson, who came to Mississippi from North Carolina, the father having been a prosperous planter and merchant. Dr. and Mrs. McLemore became the parents of six children, of whom only two are living.
McNair, Stephen Duncan, of Fayette, Jefferson county, is incum- bent of the important office of president of the railroad commission of the State of Mississippi, and his course has well justified his pre- ferment. He was born near Saratoga, Simpson county, Miss., Sept. 22, 1859, and is a son of John E. and Sarah Adeline (Watts) McNair, both of stanch Scotch descent and members of families early founded in America. John Evander McNair came from North Carolina to Mississippi in 1819, settling in Simpson, while later he founded the Lawrence county academy. He read law and was admitted to the bar of the State, while in 1853 he was elected circuit judge of his district, remaining on the bench and dignifying the same with his able services, until the reconstruction period, after the Civil war, when he was removed to make way for the "carpet-bag" element, which added so greatly to the burdens imposed on the prostrate South. Stephen D. McNair secured his early education in the schools of Simpson, Covington and Lincoln counties, and thereafter learned the art of telegraphy, becoming an operator in the service of the Illinois Central railroad, at Osyka, Miss. Later he was made joint agent for the L. N. O. & T. and the "Little J" railroads at Harriston, Miss., and finally was appointed superintendent for the N. R. E. & T. railroad from which position he resigned. He was elected chancery clerk of Jefferson county and remained in tenure of this office continuously until his nomination for the office of railroad commissioner, Aug. 27, 1903, his election, by popular vote, having occurred on the November 3rd following, while he was elected presi- dent of the commission at the time of its formal organization. He has ever accorded an unfaltering allegiance to the Democratic party
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and has been an active worker in its cause, having been a member of the State executive committee of the same at the time of his nomi- nation for railroad commissioner. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church, and he is identified with the Masonic fraternity, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Woodmen of the World, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Mystic Shrine. In the city of Jackson, Miss., on March 2, 1882, Mr. McNair was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Bell Patton, daughter of John William and Virginia (Gordon) Patton and a granddaughter of Hon. Matthew D. Patton, attorney general of Mississippi from 1834 to 1837. Mr. and Mrs. McNair have one child, Sallie Virginia.
McHenry, George A., M. D., the founder of the town which bears his name, in Harrison county, is a representative physician and sur- geon of the State and as a business man has been one of the most influential in furthering the development and upbuilding of the southern part of Mississippi, particularly the county of Harrison and the town of McHenry, where he is engaged in the practice of his profession and has varied and important capitalistic interests. Dr. McHenry was born in the city of Tiffin, Seneca county, Ohio, April 30, 1858, a son of Cornelius and Rebecca (Laubach) McHenry, the former of whom was born in Scotland and the latter in the State of Pennsylvania, of German descent. Cornelius McHenry was an infant at the time of his parents' immigration to America, and they settled in Pennsylvania, whence they later removed to Ohio, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits at the time of the doctor's birth. Dr. McHenry is indebted to the public schools of Ohio and Indiana for the early educational advantages which were his, and later he was a student in the celebrated University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, while he also attended the Tulane university, in the city of New Orleans, and completed his technical course in Louisville medi- cal college, Louisville, Ky., in which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1891, receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine. For several years Dr. McHenry was engaged in the drug business at Big Rapids, Mich., from which State he came to Missis- sippi in 1889, having been the prime factor in colonizing fifty families in Harrison county and also having become largely interested in the developing of the great timber lands of this section of the State. He was the virtual founder of the town which was named in his honor and has been the leader in the civic and industrial upbuilding of this section, where to him is accorded uniform and unqualified con- fidence and regard. He established the first newspaper in McHenry and took the initiative in other lines of enterprise which made for the advancement of local interests. Indeed, it may be said that he was led to complete his medical course in order that he might minister to the needs of the residents of McHenry and vicinity, where he engaged in the practice of his profession immediately after his graduation, while he has gained prestige as one of the finely equipped and representative physicians and surgeons of the State. At the outbreak of the Spanish-American war, in 1898, Dr. McHenry
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entered the service of his country, being commissioned assistant surgeon, with the rank of captain. He proceeded with his command to Cuba, where he had charge during the epidemic of yellow fever, from which he is an immune. He witnessed the replacing of the Spanish flag with that of the United States on governor's palace in Santiago, after which he continued in the medical department of the military service and had a wide and interesting experience. He was transferred to China and the Philippine Islands, serving on the transport "Buford," and after doing city duty in Manila he was assigned to the transport "Barrett," on which he voyaged throughout the island, serving as ship surgeon. Later he was with the First United States cavalry and marched across the province of Illoili. He received his honorable discharge. Dr. McHenry returned to Mississippi in April, 1903, and has since been engaged in practicing his profession in McHenry and in supervising his varied interests in this section. He is president of the McHenry Drug Company and vice-president of the McHenry Improvement Com- pany, while he is the owner of a large amount of realty in Harrison county. On Sept. 16, 1885, Dr. Henry was married to Miss Una Whittaker, daughter of William Whittaker, who was a prominent citizen of Indiana, where Mrs. McHenry was reared and educated. Dr. and Mrs. McHenry have one child, Floyd, who was born May 23, 1890.
McLaurin, Duncan G., one of the prominent and able members of the bar of Perry county, has been engaged in active practice at Hattiesburg, the county-seat, since 1896, and controls a good prac- tice in his chosen field of endeavor, while he is one of the influen- tial workers in the ranks of the Democratic party in his county, though never an aspirant for official preferment until November, 1906, when he was elected district attorney of the Twelfth district. Mr. McLaurin was born in Fairdale, Simpson county, Miss., on Dec. 8, 1864, and is a son of Duncan and Christine (McCullum) McLaurin, the former born in South Carolina and the latter in Simpson county, Miss. The vocation of the father throughout the major portion of his life having been that of farming and stock-growing. Duncan G. McLaurin was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm and was afforded the advantages of the public schools, including those of the high school. He thereafter continued to be identified with agricultural pursuits until he was twenty-two years of age, when he took up the study of law, having an able preceptor and devoting himself so assiduously to his reading that he was admitted to the bar of the State in 1890, upon examination before Judge A. G. Mayers. Mr. McLaurin forthwith established an office in Au- gusta, Perry county, where he remained in practice until 1896 when he came to Hattiesburg, where he has since had his home and pro- fessional headquarters and where he has been identified with much important litigation, retaining a representative clientele. He has been active in the work of the Democratic party but has never sought or held office until November, 1906. He served, however, as a member of the State and county committees of his party, as well as that of
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his home city. He is a valued member of the bar association of the State and is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, Woodmen of the World and Masons, while he enjoys marked popularity in profes- sional, business and social circles. Aug. 24, 1892, stands as the date of Mr. McLaurin's marriage to Miss Bertha Myers, daughter of Felder F. and Elizabeth (Stevens) Myers, of Augusta, Miss., and they have three children, Lauch B., Ruth and Felder Myers.
McLaurin, Paul DeLeon, principal of the Braxton Collegiate insti- tute, at Braxton, Simpson county, is one of the valued factors in educational circles in his native State and county, while he is a rep- resentative of a well known pioneer family of Mississippi. He was born in Simpson county, Miss., July 7, 1874, and is a son of Archi- bald H. and Cora M. (Wilson) McLaurin, both of whom were born and reared in this same county, where they still maintain their home, the father being one of the sterling citizens and successful planters of this section of the State, while it was his honor to go forth as a defender of the Confederacy in the Civil war, his record in the connection being creditable alike to himself and to the State which he represented in the ranks of the brave and loyal sons of the South. Professor McLaurin was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home plantation, and he has ever found satisfaction in this association of his boyhood and youth, since he learned to appreciate the dignity and value of honest toil and endeavor and gained that self-reliant spirit which the free and independent life of the agriculturist ever seems to beget. It was his privilege, however, to be accorded very superior educational advantages, his discipline being initiated in the public schools and supplemented by effective work as a student in each of the following institutions: Southwestern Presbyterian university, Clarksville, Tenn .; Peabody College for Teachers, Nash- ville, Tenn .; and the University of Nashville, in which last named he was graduated as a member of the class of 1904, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. At the age of eighteen years Professor Peabody began teaching in the public schools, and his work in the pedagogic profession has been one of distinct and uninterrupted success. After his graduation he became principal of the Braxton Collegiate insti- tute, which takes rank among the best preparatory schools in the State. It was founded in 1889, is provided with substantial and well equipped buildings, including a dormitory for students, and the corps of instructors is one of exceptional strength, each being selected by reason of proficiency in the work to which he or she is assigned. The institute offers in its curriculum a two years' course in Greek and four years in Latin, three years of higher mathematics, as well as modern languages, physics, music, etc., while graduates are eligible for admission to any of the southern universities or col- leges. Professor McLaurin has shown unqualified enthusiasm in his work and is a strict disciplinarian, a capable executive and a specially well qualified instructor, while he gains and holds the respect and esteem of his students and thus insures effective work on their part. He is a Democrat in his political proclivities, is a member of the
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Presbyterian church, and is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Pythias.
McRaven, John Wilson, vice-president, treasurer and general mana- ger of the Newton Oil and Manufacturing Company, at Newton, is one of the most progressive business men of this section and the enterprise with which he is identified is proving of great value in connection with the industrial development of Newton county, while its influence is certain to increase in importance each succes- sive year, as the interested principals are men of enterprise and distinctive initiative power. The company was incorporated in March, 1905, with a capital stock of $175,000, while the list of in- corporators comprises J. N. Carpenter and R. F. Larned of Natchez, Miss .; and Miss J. C. McClintock, W. D. McRaven and J. W. Mc- Raven, of Newton. The company's plant includes a well equipped cotton-oil mill; a fertilizer factory with the most modern facilities; an ice plant, electric light plant and machine shop, while it controls a large number of cotton gins in the State, and has in contemplation the erection, in the near future, of a pumping station for supplying water to the town of Newton, a public improvement which would be of inestimable benefit. The company manufactures all the prod- ucts of cotton seed,-oil, meal, linters and hulls,-while in the fer- tilizer plant they manufacture all the standard formulas and any special lines that may be ordered. The enterprise is rapidly forging to the front and its influence will be far-reaching as touching indus- trial and material prosperity and advancement in Newton county. John Wilson McRaven, vice-president, treasurer and general mana- ger of the concern, was born in Hinds county, Miss., near the capi- tal city, and in the same county was born his father, J. W. McRaven, while his mother, whose maiden name was Louise Duncan, was born in the city of New Orleans, La. After leaving the public schools Mr. McRaven continued his educational discipline under most fav- orable conditions by entering Mississippi college, at Clinton. After leaving college he entered the employ of the Queen & Crescent rail- road, taking a position in the car-record department, at Meridian, Miss., and there remaining for a period of four years. In 1890 he initiated his experience in the cotton-oil business, taking a position with the Mississippi Cotton Oil Company, at Yazoo City, while he remained with this company as a trusted employe for fourteen years, at Yazoo City, Jackson and Natchez, having started in as cashier and having been manager at the time of his resignation, in 1904, when he became associated in the organization of the company with which he is now identified and whose success may be safely predicted under his able and progressive management. He is an uncompromising advocate of the principles of the Democratic party, and fraternally is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen of the World. On Nov. 23, 1893, Mr. McRaven was united in marriage to Miss Lulu Stubblefield, daughter of Capt. W. H. and Lulu (Elliott) Stubble- field, of Yazoo City, and the four children of this union are William Henry, Margaret Lorena, Evie Louise and Agnes Lucille.
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Megehee, James Labern, has been long and prominently identified with the civic and business affairs of his native county of Hancock, and is today numbered among the representative citizens of the thriving town of Pickayune, that county. He was born Dec. 28, 1858, and is a son of James and Eliza (Stewart) Megehee, both of whom were likewise born and reared in this State. James L. received good educational advantages in the common schools of his native county, where he was reared to manhood and where he has made his home throughout his life thus far. He early inaugurated an active and successful business career, and for a period of fifteen years he was identified with farming, stock-growing, logging and saw milling enterprises in Hancock county. For five years he was purchasing agent for the H. Weston Lumber Company of Logtown, this county, and within this period he secured for the company the right of way for their thirty miles of railroad, while he also secured for the concern, through purchase and lease, fully 40,000 acres of timber land. Mr. Megehee met with an accident on the logging road of his company and the result of the injury was the loss of his arm. This led to his retirement from the office which he had so capably and acceptably filled, and in 1904, he engaged in the general merchandise business in Pickayune, where he effected the organ- ization of the Stockstill-Megehee Company, of which he is the active manager, the concern having a large and well equipped general store and having met with success from the start. Mr. Megehee was one of the promoters and organizers of the Pickayune bank, of which he became one of the original stockholders, while he has since served consecutively as its assistant cashier and as a member of its board of directors. He has identified himself most closely with the business and social life of the town, and is known as one of its wide-awake and reliable business men and loyal citizens. He is president of the Co-operative Milling Company and is one of the stockholders of the Pickayune Drug Company, which he assisted in organizing and incorporating. He is local representative of fif- teen of the leading life and accident insurance companies, and as such controls the leading business of the sort in this section. He has been active in connection with public affairs of a local nature, being unswerving in his allegiance to the Democratic party, and for the long period of fourteen years he served as a member of the board of supervisors of Hancock county, while during eight of these years he had the distinction of being president of the board. He is an appreciative member of the time-honored fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons, being past master of the lodge at Pickayune and being treasurer of the local lodge at the time of this writing. July 23, 1883, represents the date of Mr. Megehee's marriage to Miss Annie Moody, who was born and reared in Hancock county, being a daughter of Stephen and Sarah (Burks) Moody. The names of their three children are here entered, with respective dates of birth: Ardilla, May 26, 1884; Jennie, Dec. 23, 1889; and Mabel, May 20, 1902.
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