Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III, Part 7

Author: Rowland, Dunbar, 1864-1937, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Atlanta, Southern Historical Publishing Association
Number of Pages: 938

USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III > Part 7

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BIOGRAPHICAL

of Vicksburg, and around which cluster the most cherished mem- ories of a long and somewhat eventful life, Roswell Valentine Booth was born, June 9, 1838, being first in the family of four children. The next in order of birth was Dr. David W. Booth, who fell at his post of duty during the fearful yellow-fever epidemic of 1878, having been in charge of the United States marine and city hospitals at Vicksburg. His death was glorious martyrdom, for he remained at his post simply from a sense of duty, ministering as best he could to the dead and dying around him. The eldest sister, Martha, better known as Pattie, became the wife of E. Spottswood McClung, of Knoxville, Tenn., and she was summoned to the life eternal April 28, 1903, one of the most loved and venerated of the charming metropolis of east Tennessee, her husband having died about a year previously. No children were born of their union. The younger sister, Annie, is the wife of Col. Samuel Mckinney, of Knoxville, Tenn., and is in the bloom of a splendid southern womanhood, having won many laurels in literary fields. Colonel and Mrs. McKinney have three children-Booth, who is a cadet in the United States naval academy, at Annapolis; and Margaret and Annie Bee, who remain at the parental home. Captain Booth at- tended the country schools until he had attained to the age of sixteen years, when he was placed in old Oakland college, at that time the leading institution of learning in the State. In this college he was graduated in June, 1859, and in September of the same year he was sent by his father to Lebanon, Tenn., where he was matricu- lated as a student in the law department of Cumberland university, in which he was graduated in December, 1860, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He then returned home and began the study of the civil law, with the view of locating at Monroe, La., being thus engaged at the time when the dark clouds of war began to throw their gruesome pall over the national horizon. In the early part of May, 1861, he joined the "Volunteer Southrons," as a private, and went to Richmond, Va., where his command soon afterward became Company A of the Twenty-first Mississippi infantry, which was afterward brigaded with the Thirteenth, Seventeenth and Eigh- teenth Mississippi regiments, forming the celebrated Griffith-Barks- dale-Humphreys brigade, whose imperishable renown, won in after years on many a stricken field, rendered forever immortal the name of the Mississippi volunteer. On Aug. 1, 1862, Mr. Booth was tendered and accepted the position of first sergeant of McClung's battery of light artillery, in east Tennessee, and with this command he continued until Oct. 9, 1863, when he was commissioned first lieutenant of artillery, for ordnance duty, and assigned to the staff of Brig-Gen. A. E. Jackson, then commanding the Department of East Tennessee. With him Lieutenant Booth served until Decem- ber, 1863, when he was ordered to report to Maj .- Gen. Dabney H. Maury, commanding the Department of the Gulf, with headquarters at Mobile, Ala., and was by him assigned to ordnance duty at Fort Powell, which commanded the western entrance to Mobile bay. He acted in that capacity until the bombardment of the fort, in 1864,

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which continued without interruption for eight days and during which he cut with his own hands every shell fired from the Con- federate guns, the contest resulting in a splendid victory for the southern arms. After this he was assigned for a short time to the staff of Col. Harry H. Maury, at Pollard, Ala., and the recollection of the many kindnesses shown to him by this gallant and dashing officer remains still fragrant in the memory of Captain Booth. From that command he was sent to Maj .- Gen. St. John Liddell, of Louis- iana, in command of the eastern Department of the Gulf, with head- quarters at Blakely ; the tragic death of this brave and honored officer, on the Ouichita river, a few years after the close of hostil- ities, is sadly remembered by his many friends. With him Lieu- tenant Booth remained until late in the autumn of 1864, when the pestilential miasma of that inhospitable region so shattered his constitution that, by the advice of Doctor McCord, the department surgeon, he was relieved from duty and ordered to report to Lieut .- Gen. Richard Taylor, at Meridian, Miss. Concerning his associa- tions at this and later periods in his military career, Captain Booth has written as follows: "I desire to record that my association with General Liddell, as one of his military family, was, perhaps, the pleasantest I enjoyed during the continuance of that long and heroic struggle, and I parted from him with the profoundest regret. Thus it is in life that our tenderest ties are often rudely snapped ! As soon as my health permitted me to resume my duties, General Taylor sent me to Gen. Wirt Adams, whose command was then operating in southern Mississippi. I remained with him, however, only a few months, being then ordered to report to Gen. Frank Armstrong, at Macon, Miss., for the purpose of equipping his com- mand with the necessary ordnance stores, of most of which, in the recent and disastrous battle of Selma, it had been deprived, and I was thus engaged when the sad tidings of General Lee's surrender flashed over the wires. General Armstrong was not only a gallant soldier but was also a man of extremely, fascinating appearance, and, at the risk of being a little tedious, I will here give a brief account of the last interview I had with him and the last military order I ever received. When I reached his headquarters he was pacing the floor with a malancholy expression stamped on his hand- some countenance, and apparently wrapped in profound meditation. Giving him the proper salute, to which he promptly responded, with a 'Good morning, Captain,' I asked, 'Is it true, General, that General Lee has surrendered?' 'Yes, Captain, it is true.' 'The whole thing is gone, then,' said I. 'Yes,' he replied, in a very sad tone, 'The end, I guess, has come!' 'Well, General,' I remarked, 'I have a very large amount of ordnance stores in my hands ; what shall I do with them?' He stopped for a moment and, looking down at the floor as if in deep study, replied, 'Captain, turn them over to Major Meyer, take his receipt therefor, and report to yourself until further orders,' and he then resumed his meditations. I have never seen General Armstrong from that day to this but have religiously kept his last order, except insofar as I have yielded obedience to the commands

BIOGRAPHICAL

of a very dear little woman, who, for the most of the time since, has been nobly fighting by my side the stern battle of life." About a week later Captain Booth received his parole, arriving at his old home about May 1, 1865, just a few days over four years after he had left its portals, a light-hearted soldier, to enter the service of his country. He passed the remainder of that year in rereading his law course, and in January, 1866, he was admitted to the bar, by the Hon. Jacob Shall Yerger, one of the ablest circuit judges that has graced the bench of the State. In the autumn of the same year Captain Booth was elected district attorney, which office he filled until 1869, when he was removed, by order of the military satrap who then lorded it over the liberties of the people of Mississippi. He took an active and earnest part in the civil revolution of 1875, which swept Ames and his carpetbag cohorts forever beyond the limits of Mississippi, and in that political upheaval he was again elected district attorney, the district then comprising the counties of Hinds and Warren. Shortly after his retirement from that office he was elected attorney for Warren county, continuing in tenure of this position for more than a decade. In 1890, while absent from the city of Vicksburg in attendance upon the supreme court, at Jackson, and in entire ignorance of what was being done, he was nominated as the Democratic standard-bearer for the office of mayor of Vicks- burg, to which office he was duly elected. The duties of this executive position were not altogether congenial to his tastes and he declined a re-election, after giving a most able and popular ad- ministration. He accepted, instead, the office of city attorney, which was tendered him by the unanimous vote of the board of aldermen. This he held for one term, of four years, since which time he has taken no active part in politics but has pursued the quiet practice of his profession, which has yielded him a comfortable income and which is of representative nature. On Jan. 18, 1872, Captain Booth was united in marriage to Miss Letitia Marshall, third daughter of the late Hon. Thomas A. Marshall, who died Dec. 21, 1893, having been one of the acknowledged leaders of the Mississippi bar and a lineal descendant of the great Chief Justice John Marshall. One who knew Thomas A. Marshall long and intimately has written concerning him as follows: "I regarded Thomas A. Marshall as the most thoroughly equipped lawyer I ever saw enter a court room. Suave and courteous in manner, manly and dignified in bearing, considerate of the feelings of his fellows, and profoundly grounded in the great principles of the law, it seemed as if every department of legal science, in its highest and best sense, had emptied its wealth of lore into the head and heart of this gifted and eminent man." To Captain and Mrs. Booth have been born the following children : Roswell Valentine, Jr., died Jan. 17, 1900, in the full flush of a bright and vigorous young manhood; Mary Bell is the wife of William Balfour Klein, and they have two children-Letitia Booth and Bessie Balfour; Alan Marshall has just attained to his legal majority (1906), and bids fair to rival his noble brother in admirable attributes of character. The publishers are indebted to

5-III

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Captain Booth for the historical sketch of the city of Vicksburg incorporated in these volumes.

Borden, Philip Lee, secretary and treas- urer of the Jackson Coca-Cola Bottling Company, in the capital city of the State, is one of the progressive young business men of the city and in his executive capacity is doing much to build up the interests of his company, which carries on its enterprise as an adjunct of the Coca- Cola Company's magnificent industry. Mr. Borden, who has the general man- agement of the Jackson branch, is a native of the Old Dominion State, having been born in Strasburg, Va., Sept. 28, 1875, and being a son of Joseph and Martha (Lee) Borden, who are now deceased. Mr. Borden received his educational training in the public schools, and for ten years he was identified with agricultural pursuits in Virginia, while later he resided for a time in the State of Montana. He learned the art of telegraphy, becoming an expert operator and being employed as such by the Southern railroad after his return from the West. In 1902 he entered the service of the Coca-Cola Company as an employe of the branch bottling house in Atlanta, Ga. He mastered all details of the business and continued with the Atlanta concern until 1905, March 1 of which year he became one of the organizers of the Jackson branch of this great company. The Jackson Coca-Cola Bottling Company is capitalized for $3,500, and the official corps is as follows: J. H. Whitehead, president ; J. T. Lupton, vice-president ; and P. L. Borden, secretary, treasurer and general manager. The company's trade territory covers a radius of about 100 miles from Jackson, and the output of the bottling works for the year 1905 aggregated about 25,000 cases of the popular beverage and invigorant which gives title to the concern. Mr. Borden is handling his executive duties with great discrimination and is causing the enterprise to forge rapidly to the front in the matter of the expansion of its business in the field covered. Mr. Borden is a Democrat in politics but never takes an active interest in political matters. On March 12, 1903, he was married to Miss Viola Letitia Orndorff, daughter of John M. and Barbara (Stickley) Orndorff, of Strasburg, Va.

Bouldin, Marshal Jones, of Clarksdale, is the present incumbent of the office of sheriff of Coahoma county, has held other positions of public trust and is ex-grand chancellor of the grand lodge of Knights of Pythias in Mississippi, while he is one of the well known and popular citizens of his home county, as his official preferment implies. He was born in DeSoto county, Miss., Dec. 21, 1862, and is a son of Ephram and Kate (Jones) Bouldin, both now deceased. The former was born in Livingston county, Ala., and the latter in Panola county, Miss. The father served during four years of the

BIOGRAPHICAL

Civil war, as a private in a Mississippi regiment of volunteers in the Confederate service. Marshal J. Bouldin was reared on the home plantation and secured his educational training in the public schools, while he was variously employed up to the time of being called into official service. He is an uncompromising advocate of the principles of the Democratic party and has been an active worker in its cause. In January, 1896, he entered upon his duties as clerk of the chancery court of Coahoma county, serving in this capacity until January, 1904, representing a period of eight years, his long tenure of the position being the best evidence of the appreciative estimate placed upon his services. In retiring from this office he entered forthwith upon that which he now occupies, having been elected sheriff and tax collector of Coahoma county for a term of four years, beginning in January, 1904. In this important office he has shown much ability and discrimination and is giving a most satisfactory administration. Mr. Bouldin is one of the best known and most popular members of the Knights of Pythias in the State, and at the assembly of the grand lodge of the order in 1902 he was elected grand chancellor, serving one year and retiring in May, 1903. He and his wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. On July 22, 1890, Mr. Bouldin was united in marriage to Miss Helen Alcorn, daughter of George R. and Mary (Cooper) Alcorn, of Friar Point, Coahoma county, and they have four children : Inez, Florence Alcorn, Marshal Jones, Jr., and Mary Helen.

Bouslog, Martin Perry, of Gulfport, is secretary, treasurer and general manager of the Mississippi Abstract, Title and Guaranty Company, the only incor- porated concern of the sort in the State and is one of the progressive young busi- ness men who are pushing forward the interests of the commonwealth through normal lines of enterprise. He claims the State of Indiana as the place of his nativity, having been born in Winamac, · Pulaski county, May 8, 1879, and being a son of William H. and Mary L. (Bundy) Bouslog, both of whom were born and reared in Henry county, that State, being representatives of those sterling Virginia and Carolina pioneer fam- ilies which settled in Indiana in the early years of the nineteenth century. They removed to Bay St. Louis, Miss., in March, 1895, and remained residents of that city until May, 1896, when the family removed to New Orleans, La. Martin P. Bouslog secured his earlier education in the public schools of Indiana and the cities of Chicago and New Orleans, having graduated from the boys' high school, New Orleans, as a member of the class of 1898, of which he was president and also class orator for the year, while he is an appreciative member of the alumni association of this excellent

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school. He later attended the New Orleans College of Oratory for two terms. After leaving school he held the position of stenog- rapher and bookkeeper in a New Orleans lumber export company, and later held a similar position with a large commission house of that city, and in 1900 he located in Bay St. Louis, Miss., engaging in the abstract of title business with an office also at Mississippi City, and later removed to his present home in Gulfport. The Mis- sissippi Abstract, Title and Guaranty Company was organized by M. P. Bouslog, and incorporated in May, 1904, and the official corps is as follows: S. E. Travis, of Hattiesburg, president; J. I. Ford, of Scranton, and J. W. Thomas, of Gulfport, vice-presidents ; and Martin P. Bouslog, secretary, treasurer and general manager, and the board of directors consists of those officers and in addition to them, J. F. Stuard of Gulfport. Mr. Bouslog has devised a card system of abstract of title indexes and the company has the benefit of this most modern system. The company has the best of facilities and is building up a large business, doing general abstract work and guaranteeing titles. The headquarters of the company for Harrison county are in Gulfport, while branch offices are maintained in Hinds, Perry, Greene and Jackson counties, Mr. Bouslog having entire executive charge of all the business, which is rapidly expanding as there comes a popular knowledge of the facilities and assurances which the concern offers. Mr. Bouslog is one of the popular young business men of Gulfport, being an active member of the Progres- sive Business League of the city, and is one of its loyal and en- thusiastic citizens, manifesting much interest in local affairs and doing all in his power to promote the welfare of the attractive little city.

Bowie, Allen Thomas, of Natchez, is incumbent of the office of circuit clerk for Adams county and is one of the well known and popular citizens of that sec- tion of the State. He was born in Natchez, Aug. 17, 1840, and is a son of Dr. Allen Thomas and Matilda Jane (Routh) Bowie. His early educational discipline was received under the direc- tion of private tutors and thereafter he pursued his studies successively in the University of Virginia, Oakland college, Mississippi, and the University of North Carolina, in which last mentioned in- stitution he was a student at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war ; he was a member of the senior class at the time of his withdrawal to enter the Confederate service. His parents were at the time residents of Lake St. Joseph, La., and he returned home in the spring of 1861 to enlist as a private in the Tensas cavalry, a company which was raised in Tensas parish, La., and which became a part of the regiment commanded by Gen. Wirt Adams. He was made sergeant of his company and later was pro-

BIOGRAPHICAL

moted adjutant. On Nov. 11, 1863, he was commissioned assistant adjutant general, with rank of captain, and was assigned to duty as chief of staff under General Adams, thereafter continuing in active service until the close of the war. He received his parole at Gaines- ville, Ga., where his brigade was stationed at the time of the sur- render of General Lee. He then returned to Tensas parish, La., where he was identified with plantation interests until 1869, when he took up his residence in Natchez, Miss., where he has since main- tained his home and where he has followed various vocations. He has been circuit clerk since 1899 and is an able and popular official. He is a stanch supporter of the principles of the Democratic party and he is affiliated with the United Confederate Veterans. On Nov. 21, 1867, Captain Bowie was united in marriage to Mrs. Annie Matilda (Routh) Marshall, who died Oct. 27, 1895, and who is sur- vived by two children-Matilda Routh and Allen Thomas, Jr. The latter married Miss Myra A. Crossgrove, June 7, 1898, and they have three children-Anne Matilda, Allen Thomas (3d), and Hugh Crossgrove. The former married F. L. Maxwell, of Mound, La., Dec. 27, 1906.

Brady, Thomas, Jr., who is established in the successful practice of his profession at Brookhaven, is recognized as being distinctively one of the representative members of the bar of Lincoln county, and his prestige and reputation transcend the local limitations, as he has been iden- tified with important litigations in the State and Federal courts and is prominent as a counsellor. He is of Irish, French and English lineage and a scion of fam- ilies long resident of Mississippi, of which his parents are native, as is also he him- self. He was born in Prentiss, Lawrence county, Sept. 20, 1870, and is a son of Pickens and Margaret (Burrow) Brady, who are still residents of that county. The public schools afforded Mr. Brady his earlier educational opportunities and he finally entered the University of Mississippi, from whose law department he was graduated with distinction as a member of the class of 1894, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was forthwith admitted to the bar of his native State, and in September of that year he established an office in Brookhaven, where he has since been engaged in the active prac- tice of his profession, to which he is signally devoted and in the learning of which he is admirably fortified. He is local attorney . for the Illinois Central railroad, and most of the other important corporations of his county. He has been active in suppressing white-cap organization in Lincoln county and was appointed special attorney both by the United States government and Governor Vardaman for the prosecution of members of such organ- izations as unlawfully interfered with the rights of labor. In

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politics he is found stanchly aligned as a supporter of the principles of the Democracy.

Boddie, Van B., a well known attorney of Greenville, was born at Memphis, Shelby county, Tenn., Jan. 20, 1869. His father, whose name was also Van B., was born at Gallatin, Tenn., and was educated at Danville, Ky. The mother, whose maiden name was Anna Jewell, was a native of Opelousas, La. The son was denied the opportunity of attending school in his boyhood, and is, therefore, largely self-educated. He deserves great credit, however, in overcoming all ob- stacles in that direction, and is regarded as one of the well informed men of his town. As a lawyer he stands well at the bar and enjoys a comfortable practice. In politics he is a Democrat, and in the sessions of 1902 and 1906 represented his county in the State legislature. He is a member of the Episcopal church. On March 13, 1895, he was united in marriage to Miss Fay, daughter of John W. and Sallie (Walton) Shields, of Greenville, and to that union have been born three children : Mamie, deceased; Dorothy Fay, six years of age, and Mary, aged three years.

Brennan, James M. A., is one of the well known and popular citizens of Vicks- burg, where he has held many offices of distinctive public trust and responsibility, being at the present time engaged in lo- cating large factory industries. Mr. Bren- nan is a native of the State of New Jersey, having been born in Boonton, Morris county, April 10, 1855, and being a son of Thomas and Mary (Dunlap) Brennan, native respectively of Counties Monaghan and Clare, Ireland. The family remained resident of New Jersey until 1865, when they came to Mississippi and located in Vicksburg, just after the close of the war. In 1870 Thomas Brennan here engaged in the mercantile business, and he continued a resident of Vicksburg until his death, 1898. James M. A. Brennan was afforded the advantages of the school of the Convent of Mercy, in Vicksburg, and as a youth he entered the employ of Antoine Genella, at that time the most extensive queensware and china dealer in the South. He remained with this concern until 1869, in the meantime attending night school, in order to round out a practical education. Mr. Genella died in 1871 and was succeeded by William Crutcher & Company, by which firm Mr. Brennan was employed until 1876, when he secured a similar posi- tion with Clement Gudici, who was engaged in the same line of

BIOGRAPHICAL

enterprise. Mr. Gudici died the same year, willing his stock of goods to Thomas J. Brennan, a brother of the subject of this sketch, and the business was then continued by the brothers, under the firm name of T. J. Brennan & Brother. With this business Mr. Bren- nan was associated actively until 1883, when a combination of cir- cumstances brought about the failure of the firm. The integrity of the principals in the same was shown, however, in the fact that they eventually paid every dollar of their indebtedness. James M. A. Brennan was engaged in the commission business during the interval of one year, and in 1884 he was elected city assessor and tax collector, being chosen as his own successor in 1886 and 1888. In 1889 he was elected sheriff of the county, giving a most able administration, and being re-elected in 1891, serving four years as his second term and being then disqualified for another re-election, under the limitations imposed by the State constitution. In 1890 Mr. Brennen organized the State sheriff's association, since which time it has been in a thriving condition. By this organization the sheriffs of the State have been able to apprehend many criminals who would have otherwise escaped, as they cooperate together. , In 1895 he was elected clerk of the circuit court of the county, retain- ing this incumbency four years, at the expiration of which, in 1899, he was again called to the position of sheriff, serving one term and not offering himself as a candidate for re-election, until the present time when he is again a candidate for sheriff of the county. His personal popularity is plainly indicated in the fact that he has never been defeated for any office for which he has been a candidate. He is a Democrat in his political proclivities, is a communicant of the Catholic church and is affiliated with the Catholic Knights of Amer- ica and with the Knights of St. John. On June 25, 1878, was solem- nized the marriage of Mr. Brennan to Miss Rosa E. Morley, of Mobile, Ala., and they have two daughters: Mary E., wife of C. H. Hughes, and Catharine E., wife of John A. Podesta.

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Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III, Part 7

Author: Rowland, Dunbar, 1864-1937, ed Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Atlanta, Southern Historical Publishing Association Number of Pages: 938

Author: Rowland, Dunbar, 1864-1937, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Atlanta, Southern Historical Publishing Association
Number of Pages: 938