USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III > Part 68
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Moore, Benjamin B., was born in the State of Georgia, son of Lemuel B. Moore and Eron (Byrd) Moore. His mother was a descendant of Sir William Byrd of Virginia. When he was four years old his parents moved to Alabama, in which State they reared a large family. Benjamin, the youngest son, having been left an orphan, when quite young, was placed by his brothers at LaGrange college, Ala., which was then in the charge of Bishop Robert Paine. He was an excellent student and Bishop Paine regarded him as one of the most profound scholars ever graduated from that in- stitution. After graduation he became the associate editor of the "Wetumpka Argus" with William L. Yancey, the great southern statesman, whose memory he cherished until death. In 1846 he enlisted for the Mexican War, and left with Co. G, 1st Ala., vol- unteer regiment, for Mexico. After the war he returned to Ala- bama and took charge of a large number of slaves and other prop-
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erty which he had inherited from his family. Soon after this he was married to Miss Ruth Rowland, daughter of Col. Creed T. Rowland of Aberdeen, Miss. During the war 1861-5 he served one term in the Mississippi legislature, having moved to the State after his marriage. Desiring a more active life, he joined the 3rd infantry battalion State troops and was soon promoted to the rank of major, serving with distinction throughout the siege of Vicksburg. Dur- ing the reconstruction period he watched with anxious care the condition of affairs in the southern States and earnestly counseled the leaders of his section to relax no effort to restore white suprem- acy to the country. Having a taste for literature he resumed his favorite occupation, and frequently contributed scientific and his- torical articles to the various publications of the day; his estimate of Gen. Robert E. Lee attracting widespread attention in the North. He died in Chickasaw county, February 19, 1901. Gen. Gholson, of Aberdeen, Miss., said of him that he was a rare scholar, a gallant soldier and one of the finest types of the men of the Old South.
Morgan, John W., who is engaged in the general merchandise business in Columbia, is one of the popular and representative mer- chants of this thriving town and is a native son of Mississippi. He was born in Amite county, Oct. 5, 1872, and is the eldest of the seven children of Gayden W. and Polly A. (Brabham) Morgan, honored residents of Amite county, where the father is a prosperous planter and influential citizen. Gayden W. Morgan entered the Confederate service when but sixteen years of age and served with marked gal- lantry during the last two years of the war between the States. The subject of this sketch passed his boyhood days on the home planta- tion and his early education was secured in the public schools of his native county, including a course in the school at Gillsburg. This discipline he later supplemented by an effective course in the Wilbur Smith business college, Lexington, Ky. Prior to entering this insti- tution, at the age of twenty-two years he entered the employ of the William Atkinson Bacat Company, of Osyka, as a salesman, and he remained with this concern five years. After leaving the business college he took a position as bookkeeper in the clothing establishment of Logan Phelps, of Jackson, where he remained two years. In 1900 he took up his residence in Columbia where he en- gaged in the general merchandise trade, as head of the firm of J. W. Morgan & Company. The firm has a well equipped store and has built up a large and prosperous business, based on fair dealing and successful effort in catering to the wants of patrons. Mr. Morgan is a liberal and progressive citizen and is ever ready to lend his co- operation in the promotion of enterprises for the general good of the community. His political support is given to the Democratic party and both he and his wife are members of the Baptist church. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, Knights of Pythias and Independent Order of Odd Fellows. On Sept. 3, 1899, Mr. Morgan was united in marriage to Miss Mary Little, daughter of James and Amanda Little of Amite county, and her death occurred in the fol-
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lowing month. On June 8, 1903, he wedded Miss Lee Terral, daugh- ter of Judge Edward Y. and Adaline (Touchstone) Terral, who are now residents of Cameron, Tex., whither they removed from Colum- bia, Miss. Her father is a brother of Judge Samuel Terral, associate justice of the supreme court of Mississippi. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan have two sons, John W., Jr., and Edward Terral.
Moore, Prof. A. M., was born in York dis- trict, S. C., in 1828, and is the son of the late Alexander and Nancy (McCombs) Moore, the former of whom was born in York district, S. C., and the latter in Mecklen- burg, N. C. They emigrated to Tennessee at an early day, where they established their home and reared their family. Mr. Moore was a prosperous farmer and gave his boys the advantages of the best schools of that day. Professor Moore received his academic training at the Mountain academy in Tipton county, presided over by the Rev. Dr. Holmes, a profound scholar and one of the ablest educators PROF. A. M. MOORE of his time. After a course at Erskine college, South Carolina, he entered Jefferson college, Cannonsburg, Pa., where he graduated in 1855. The following year he accepted the mathematical department in the Sommerville male academy in Tennessee, where he taught with great success until the gathering war cloud overshadowed our land and the call to arms resounded from the great lakes to the everglades. An adopted son of the vol- unteer State, he responded to her call and exchanged the peaceful pursuits of the school room for the more stirring duties of camp and march. Accordingly he enlisted as a lieutenant in the Sixth Tennessee infantry and followed the fate of the Confederacy until the surrender in 1865; taking part in the battles of Mur- freesboro, Shiloh, Perryville and many other engagements. Professor Moore is now associated with his wife and daughter in the management of the Waverly insti- tute at Byhalia, Miss. This school was founded in 1880 and has been in successful operation for twenty-seven years and has done much to raise the standard of educa- MRS. STELLA GRAHAM tion in that section. Professor Moore is known, not only as a thor- ough, practical and progressive teacher, but as a cultured and schol- arly man and his influence along social, educational and moral lines has always been elevating and uplifting. Mrs. A. M. Moore, the wife of Professor Moore, is, likewise, a popular and successful teacher. She was graduated from the Mary Sharp college, Winchester, Tenn.,
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in the early sixties. This college was famous in its day as a pioneer in the higher education of women. Mrs. Moore has given her life to teaching, beginning in her native town as an assistant in Trinity Hall, a school for girls, under the auspices of the Episcopal church, where she worked most acceptably until the burning of the building by the Federals in 1865. Mrs. Moore has had a long and varied experience in the school room, having been connected at different times with some of the best schools in the South. She was for many years a valued teacher in the Higbee school, Memphis, Tenn., having in charge the departments of Latin and Greek. In 1899 she returned to Mississippi at the solicitation of her friends and former patrons to again cast her lot with the good people of Byhalia, as principal of the Waverly institute. In addition to her ability as a teacher, Mrs. Moore is a woman of literary taste and culture and is possessed of poetic talent of no mean order. Mrs. Stella Graham, the only child of Professor and Mrs. Moore, has for nine years had in charge the music department of the Waverly institute, which she has car- ried on with unremitting energy and success. She has revolution- ized the town in a musical way and has done much to develop and. inspire in the young a desire for musical culture. In the neighbor- ing city of Memphis, Tenn., she has worked up a large and growing class, is forging to the front and holding her own, with the best. A woman of indomitable energy, she puts her entire interest and conscience into her work.
Mortimer, Thornton E., is one of the representative younger members of the bar of Washington county, being estab- lished in the practice of his profession in Belzona. He was born near Winona, Carroll county, Miss., June 3, 1877, and of the same place, his parents, Arthur and Laura Ann Mortimer, are likewise native, the former having been born July 5, 1853, and the latter May 14, 1857. The pa- ternal grandfather, Edwin Mortimer, came to America from London, England, in 1812, at the age of sixteen years, and he took up his residence in Mississippi, where he passed the remainder of his life, having long been engaged in the general merchandise business and having taught school at Middleton and Vaiden, prior to the war between the States. The maternal grandfather, Augustus J. Byrd, was born in South Carolina, in 1830, whence he removed to Mississippi, and he was a soldier of the Confederacy during practically the entire period of the Civil war, having served under General Beauregard. After proper preparatory discipline, the subject of this sketch en- tered Mississippi college, at Clinton, in which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1899, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Science. In his senior year, he was captain of the Mississippi College Rifles and in the same year he was second orator
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on the occasion of the Hermenian anniversary at the college. After his graduation, Mr. Mortimer engaged in educational work, having been principal of Blue Mountain academy for four years, at the expiration of which he entered the law department of Millsaps col- lege, in the city of Jackson, where he was graduated in June, 1904, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, representing his class as one of two orators on commencement day. He was admitted to the bar in February, 1904, a few months prior to his graduation in the law school, and since that time he has been engaged in the general practice of his profession in Belzona, where he has met with excel- lent success and where he has gained recognition as a well fortified trial lawyer and counsellor. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church, in which he is a deacon, and he is affiliated with the Yazoo City lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, and with the organ -. ization of the Woodmen of the World at Blue Mountain. On July 5, 1905, Mr. Mortimer was united in marriage to Miss Virginia Bowles, daughter of John S. and Edmonia (Rutherford) Bowles, of Sandy Hook, Va.
Myers, Albert, Sr., of Byhalia, is one of the honored citizens of Marshall county, where he took up his residence in 1854 and whence he went forth as a loyal sol- dier of the Confederacy at the outbreak of the war between the States. He has been identified with agricultural pursuits for many years and for some time maintained his home in De Soto county. Mr. Myers was born in Anson county, N. C., and in the same county also were born his parents, Absalom and Adaline (Boggan) Myers. His father served as sheriff of Anson county and also represented the same in the legislature of North Carolina. He also received nomination for congress, on the Whig ticket. He removed from North Carolina to Mississippi in the early fifties and became one of the representative planters of De Soto county and later of Marshall county, where he died in 1863, at the age of sixty- three years. His wife was a daughter of Polk and Patsy Boggan, the latter of whom was a sister of the mother of Hon. Isham G. Har- ris, who represented Mississippi in the United States senate; Rev. George W. Harris, who founded the Methodist Episcopal church in Tennessee; and William R. Harris, who was chief justice of the su- preme court of Tennessee. The maternal great-grandfather (Bog- gan) of the subject of this sketch was a native of Ireland and settled in North Carolina prior to the Revolution, in which he took part, having been captain in a North Carolina regiment. The subject of this sketch secured his educational training in the schools of North Carolina and Mississippi, and was reared to manhood on the home- stead plantation, in Marshall county. He and five of his brothers were valiant soldiers in the Confederate service. Col. George B.
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Myers commanded the Tenth Mississippi infantry, and he died in 1879, at Holly Springs, this State. Charles R. Myers, now a resident of Byhalia, was a member of the Eleventh Mississippi infantry. Absalom Myers, Jr., who resides in Byhalia, was a member of the Thirtieth Mississippi. Albert Myers, subject of this review, enlisted in Company A, Eleventh Mississippi infantry, in which he served during the four years of the war, having taken part in the last fight at Salisbury, N. C., after the surrender of General Lee. During the last year of the war he was orderly sergeant of a company of sharp- shooters, having command of the same the greater portion of the time. Polk S. Myers, who died in Byhalia, having been a prominent member of the bar of Marshall county, was a member of the same company and regiment as was his brother Albert, of this sketch, having been a lieutenant in his company and later having become a lieutenant in Company B, Thirtieth Mississippi infantry. He was captured in the battle of Missionary Ridge and was held a pris- oner, at Johnson's island, in Lake Erie, until the close of the war. Henry C. Myers served in the Second Missouri cavalry during the last year of the war. He was secretary of state of Mississippi from 1878 to 1886 and is now general agent for the Equitable Life Insurance Company at Memphis, Tenn. From his youth to the present Albert Myers has been engaged in agricultural pursuits, and he is now one of the extensive landholders and prominent plant- ers of Marshall county. In 1880 he was elected to the State senate, in which he served one term. He is a stanch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party, and is affiliated with the United Confed- erate Veterans. As a young man Mr. Myers was united in marriage to Miss Texana Durham, daughter of Wilson and Letitia Durham. Her father came from Perry county, Tenn., to Mississippi, settling in Marshall county in 1833 and having been one of the first three white men to take up permanent residence in this county. To Mr. and Mrs. Myers have been born eleven children, namely: Lucy, Evaline (deceased), Albert, Jr., Durham, Henry C., Stanley (de- ceased), Talbot, Addie, Texia, Brownlee, and Lydell.
Myers, George Clifton, the efficient and popular clerk of the su- preme court of Mississippi, was born at Byhalia, Marshall county, this State, Sept. 2, 1852, and is a son of George Boggan Myers, a native of South Carolina and Eusebia Saxon (Rodgers) Myers, a na- tive of North Carolina. The original progenitor in the agnatic line was Marmaduke Myers, great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, who immigrated from England and settled on the eastern shore of Maryland, whence he later removed to North Carolina. The maternal ancestors likewise came from England, and they settled in South Carolina. The maternal grandfather, James S. Rodgers, was a soldier in the Seminole war. Col. George B. Myers was a loyal soldier of the Confederacy in the war between the States, having served as captain of Company I, Tenth Mississippi infantry, of which regiment he was later promoted lieutenant colonel. He was se- verely wounded in an engagement at Munfordville, Ky., and was wounded and captured at Jonesboro, Ga., being thereafter impris-
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oned on Johnson's island, in Lake Erie, where he was held in cap- tivity until the close of the war. He then returned to his home in Marshall county, Miss., where he was elected clerk of the circuit court, having been removed from the office by Governor Ames, in the so-called "re-construction" period, but he was re-elected to the office in 1871, and continued incumbent of the same until his death, in 1879, having been one of the well known and highly honored citizens of Marshall county, where his wife also passed the closing years of her life. George C. Myers, the immediate subject of this sketch, was afforded the advantages of the male academy at Byhalia and the Chalmers institute, at Holly Springs, and he then took up the study of law, but did not enter upon the practice of the same, by reason of the fact that upon the death of his father he was ap- pointed to succeed the latter as circuit clerk, this appointment having . been made May 5, 1879, by Governor Stone. At the next general election he was made his own successor by popular vote, and he held the office continuously until Sept. 22, 1903, when he was appointed clerk of the supreme court, by Governor Longino, as successor of Hon. E. W. Brown, deceased. He thereupon removed from Holly Springs to Jackson, and at the general election in November follow- ing he received a plurality of the popular vote and the majority of the electoral vote. As this did not constitute election the selec- tion of a supreme court clerk devolved upon the legislature and resulted in his election to that office Jan. 12, 1904. In politics Mr. Myers is a stanch adherent of the Democratic party and both he and his wife are communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church; he served as senior warden of Christ church at Holly Springs prior to his removal to the capital city. Mr. Myers is prominent in the Ma- sonic fraternity in Mississippi, being past grand high priest of the grand chapter of Royal Arch Masons in the State and past grand commander of the grand commandery of Knights Templars, also holding membership in Hamasa Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Meridian. He is also affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Knights and Ladies of Honor, being past grand protector of the latter order. At Holly Springs, Miss., June 20, 1880, Mr. Myers was united in marriage to Miss Ida Greer Bracken, daughter of Elvis Jett Bracken and Frances (Wright) Bracken, of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Myers have four children: George Boggan, Clayton Hull, Elvis Lucas and Benjamin McKee.
Nall, Edwin Hargrove. The magnificent progress and develop- ment which have marked the history of Mississippi within the past two decades have brought radical appreciation in land values, and the resources of the commonwealth have been well protected through the various State and county officers. The important office of State land commissioner is held by him whose name initi- ates this sketch and who has proven a most efficient and popular executive, having the affairs of his office well in hand and doing all in his power to further the welfare of his native State. Mr. Nall was born in Holmes county, Miss., Nov. 5, 1849, and is a son of Berry and Jane Thompson (Hargrove) Nall, the father having been a
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clergyman of the Baptist church and having come to Mississippi from Georgia, first locating in Lawrence county, whence he later removed to Holmes county, where he passed the remainder of his life. His wife survives him, making her home in Memphis, Tenn. He was a son of John Nall, who was a captain in the Continental line in the War of the Revolution, serving seven years under Gen. Elisha Clark of Georgia. Col. Nelson Hargrove, maternal grand- father of the subject of this review, was a soldier and officer in the War of 1812 and his father was a soldier of the Revolution. Edwin H. Nall was afforded the advantages of the old "field" schools of Holmes county, and during the greater portion of his life he has been closely identified with agricultural pursuits, though he has been called upon to serve in various offices of public trust. He was secretary of the direct-tax commission and also held the office of assistant secretary of State. In 1898 Governor McLaurin appointed him State commissioner of public lands, and in the following year he was elected to this office by the popular vote. His administration gave unqual- ified satisfaction and he was most consistently chosen as his own successor in the election of Nov. 3, 1903, for the regulation term of four years. He is an ardent supporter of the cause of the Demo- cratic party and is a loyal and public-spirited citizen and one of the popular officials of the capital city. On July 11, 1881, Mr. Nall was united in marriage to Miss Helen Broadnax Smedes, daughter of Gen. Charles E. and Martha Love (Broadnax) Smedes. Mr. and Mrs. Nall have six children, namely: Edward Walthall, Mrs. Lucia Harvey, Overton C., Elsie, Albert S. and Helen.
Nash, Wiley Norris, of Starkville, Miss., is recognized as one of the representative men of Mississippi, and as one of the rep- resentative members of the bar of the State, and is now engaged in the practice of his profession in Starkville; he also owns a small farm lying just inside and outside the corporation, the cultivation of which he has overseen for years. He was a Confederate soldier in the war be- tween the States, is an ex-member of the legislature, has also been county attorney of Oktibbeha county, district attorney, and attorney general of Mississippi. Mr. Nash was born in Noxubee county, April 6, 1846, some fourteen miles south of WILEY N. NASH where he now lives. He is a son of Stephen Evans and Mariah Jane (Stanton) Nash, both de- ceased, the former of whom was born in South Carolina and the latter in North Carolina. There are people of this name in England, Scot- land and Ireland. It is not known that any belonged to a titled family. In the old country, however, some are classed with the gen- try and claim a traditional motto the English of which is "Faithful In Everything." The Nash family in America was founded in the
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early colonial era. Their descendants, many of them, traveled South and West with the opening up and development of the country, becoming pioneers in many States. The present generation, drifting away from the older States, as to their antecedents and relatives generally, rely partly upon history, and partly on tradition, "that which has been handed down." The great-grandfather of Wiley Norris Nash, on his father's side, was a soldier of the Revolutionary war, his paternal great-grandmother was a Miss Harrison, a blood relative of Benjamin Harrison of old colonial days and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and a family that has given two presidents to the United States. His maternal grand- mother was a Speight, said to be a blood relative of Richard Dobbs Speight, one of the framers of the present constitution of the United States; she was also a blood relative of Jesse Speight, deceased, form- erly a United States senator from Mississippi. This family is re- lated to many North Carolina families who have furnished good, brave an true men to the country generally. Gen. Francis Nash, a general of the Revolutionary war, who was killed at the battle of King's Mountain, and Gen. Abner Nash, also a gallant general officer in the Continental army, according to tradition, are both numbered with the relatives of this family, as well as many other families of that name in different States of the Union. Wiley N. Nash, the immediate subject of this sketch, after about six years old, was reared in Oktibbeha county, Miss., and after due academic discipline, he graduated in the law department of the University of Mississippi in 1868, under the illustrious L. Q. C. Lamar. Being admitted to the bar, he began the practice at Starkville, Miss., in the fall of 1868, rapidly rising in his profession. Anterior to this he had won high character as a brave and gallant Confederate soldier. At the age of sixteen he entered the Confederate army as a volunteer. He saw service in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee; most of his service was in Mississippi and Georgia, being badly wounded in Georgia, shot through the right thigh in a fight with infantry. He served first, for a short time, with State troops. He soon, as a private, joined Wirt Adams' regiment of cavalry. Mr. Nash was soon detached from his company on extra hazardous duty with Harvey's Scouts, commanded by Capt. Addison Harvey, a famous captain of the Confederacy. With this company Mr. Nash served until the surrender, being then one of its sergeants. Harvey's Scouts, through their famous leader, constant service, hazardous duties, and hard fighting, gained deservedly as much character as any company of their kind in the Confederate service. They were first a part of Wirt Adam's regiment of cavalry, scouting and reconnoitering for the regiment; next they became a part of Gen. Frank Armstrong's brigade of cavalry, scouting and reconnoitering for the brigade; they were next transferred or attached generally to Gen. W. H. Jack- son's division of cavalry, scouting and reconnoitering for the division. For awhile during the time Gen. Joseph E. Johnston commanded the Army of Tennessee, Harvey's Scouts reported direct to General Johnston. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, in his narrative, speaks very
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