USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III > Part 71
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Norrell, Albert Gallatin, who is living practically retired on the old homestead plantation, in Rankin county, about six miles south of the city of Jackson, is another of Mississippi's sons who has at- tained to distinction, as he is not only an able member of the bar but also served on the district bench of the State of Utah and was United States commissioner in that commonwealth while it was still under territorial government. Judge Norrell was born in Ran- kin county, Miss., Dec. 18, 1845, and is one of the five survivors in a family of seven children born to Thomas N. and Frances (Parker) Norrell, the former of whom was born in Claiborne county, Miss., July 4, 1815, being a son of Levi and Kate (Gwin) Norrell, who came from South Carolina to Mississippi in 1800, as pioneers of Claiborne county. Thomas N. Norrell became one of the leading planters of Rankin county, where his landed estate comprised more than 1,200 acres of land, devoted to the raising of cotton and corn and to the breeding of high-grade live stock. He was one of the most honored and influential citizens of his county, which he represented in the State legislature, having been elected in 1880, while for two years he was a valued member of the board of supervisors of Rankin county. His wife was born in Virginia, in 1814, and each attained the venerable age of eighty-five years, while in death they were not long divided, as he survived her by less than two months. Judge Albert G. Norrell passed his boyhood days on the old homestead and was given excellent educational advantages, having completed a course in Richland academy, after which he continued his studies in the University of Mississippi, at Oxford, and was then matricu- lated in the law department of Cumberland university, at Lebanon, Tenn., where he was graduated. When a youth of sixteen years he tendered his services in defense of the cause of the Confederacy, en- listing as a private in Company E, Twenty-eighth Mississippi cavalry, and continuing in the service until the close of the war. He was a participant in the battles of Resaca and Peach Tree Creek, New Hope
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church, and took part in the defense of Atlanta, after which his com- mand went into Tennessee, being with General Hood in the battle of Franklin and thence proceeding to Nashville, serving under Gen- erals Adams, Armstrong, Forrest and William Jackson. In April, 1865, Mr. Norrell was paroled by General Canby, at Livingston, Ala. After being admitted to the bar of his native State Mr. Nor- rell established himself in practice at Yazoo City, where he met with marked success and where he continued his professional labors for a period of eleven years. He served Yazoo county three successive terms in the State legislature, 1882-6, and within this time he took a particularly active part in advocating the passage of the bill pro- viding for the establishing of the industrial institute and college for girls at Columbus, the efforts which he put forth having had much influence in bringing about the passage of the bill and the making of the proper appropriation for this worthy object. He was also a strong supporter of the railroad-commission bill, providing for the appointment of State commissioners, and this bill was vigor- ously pushed forward and finally enacted. In 1884 President Cleve- land appointed Judge Norrell a member of the Utah commission, comprised of five members, which controlled absolutely all elections within the territory of Utah. He was made chairman of the com- mission by the unanimous election of his confreres and continued incumbent of this position until January, 1896, when Statehood was inaugurated in Utah and the commission was dissolved. He took up his residence in Salt Lake City in January, 1887, and was in tenure of the office of United States commissioner during the period of the most fervid legal fights in the courts in the matter of doing away with polygamy and other Mormon offenses. Judge Norrell made the first specifically political campaign along party lines that was ever made in the new State of Utah, being accompanied in his canvass by Maj. Richard W. Young, a grandson of Brigham Young. He gave two months to his campaign work in the interest of the Democratic party and paid his own expenses during his vigorous canvass. At the time of the first election after the admission of Utah to Statehood Judge Norrell was nominated in the Democratic convention of the Third judicial district, including Salt Lake county and city, as one of the three candidates for the office of district judge. He carried the district by 3,000 majority, in the face of a normal Republican majority of 1,800, and he served with distinction on the district bench until Jan. 1, 1901. He then resigned, by reason of his impaired health, and shortly afterward returned to Mississippi and took up his abode on the old home plantation, at Plain, Rankin county, where he has since lived essentially retired from active busi- ness, save as he gives attention to the management of the estate.
Oakes, John Robert, engaged in the insurance business at Charles- ton and also editor and proprietor of the Tallahatchie Herald, is a native of Tallahatchie county and a scion of old and sterling families of Mississippi. He was born at Philip City, this county, July 12, 1874, and is a son of John T. and Elvina T. (Maxey) Oakes, the former of whom was born in Leake county, and the latter in Pontotoc county,
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this State. In the autumn of 1861, John T. Oakes enlisted as a private in Company K, Thirtieth Mississippi infantry, and he was in active service with this command until the close of the war, which compassed the defeat of the cause for which he had valiantly con- tended on many a sanguinary battlefield. The maternal grand- father of John R. Oakes, served with the rank of captain during the Mexican war, and was also in the Confederate service during the Civil war. His ancestors settled in the State of Virginia in the early colonial epoch, and in Richmond county, that State, are still found many representatives of the family, direct and collateral. John Robert Oakes found excellent educational advantages in the graded schools of Grenada and Tallahatchie counties and he duly profited by the opportunities thus afforded him. He has been engaged in the general insurance business in Charleston for the past three years, and is also the able editor of the Tallahatchie Herald, a weekly paper published in this thriving little city and standing as a popular ex- ponent of local interests. In his political allegiance Mr. Oakes is a stalwart Democrat, and he is identified with the Masonic fraternity and the Woodmen of the World. On Oct. 5, 1898, Mr. Oakes was united in marriage to Miss Mabel Rainey, daughter of Dr. Philemon T. and Sue E. (Lauglin) Rainey, of Cascilla, Tallahatchie county, and they have four children, John Philemon, Mabel Inez, Robbie Sue and Paul Rainey.
O'Connell, James, a prominent mer- chant of Purvis, is a dealer in general merchandise. He is a native of the fair Emerald Isle, which has contributed so valuable an element to the mosaic social fabric of the United States. He was born in County Sligo, Ireland, in October, 1863, and in the same county were born and reared his parents, Patrick and Jane (Kenney) O'Connell, representative of stanch old Irish families of that section. Our subject duly availed himself of the advantages of the parochial and common schools of his native land, where he con- tinued to reside until 1880. When he was eighteen years of age he immigrated to the United States, settling in Kentucky. In St. Joseph college, at Bardstown, that State, he continued his studies for a time, and upon initiating his independent career he became a salesman of dry goods and wagons, in which connection he forthwith gave evidence of that pragmatic ability and mature judgment which have been the conservators of his success in later years. In 1894 Mr. O'Connell came to Purvis, where he engaged in the general merchandise business on his own responsi- bility, founding the enterprise which has grown to so excellent pro- portions and definite success under his personal direction. He con- tinued operations individually until 1904, when he admitted his brother Edward to partnership, whereupon the firm title of James
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O'Connell & Brother was adopted. This partnership continued until 1906, when James purchased his brother's interest and now is the owner of the large and complete general store. The commodious and well equipped establishment appeals to a representative trade and the business is large in volume as derived from the trade territory normally tributary to Purvis, the attractive county seat. Each of the several departments of the store is well stocked and no efforts or pains are spared in catering to the demands of a thoroughly appre- ciative patronage, the business being exclusively retail in character. Mr. O'Connell is held in high regard as a progressive business man and a public-spirited citizen and the substantial nature of his busi- ness enterprise offers the most patent evidence of his popular esti- mate. In politics our subject is a stanch advocate of the principles and policies of the Democratic party; fraternally he is affiliated with the Woodmen of the World, while both he and his wife are com- municants of the Catholic church. On Feb. 10, 1897, Mr. O'Connell was united in marriage to Miss Kate Thornton, daughter of George and Fannie (Rew) Thornton, of Cuba, Ala., and they have had five children, namely: Erin, Kathleen, James, John George (deceased) and Patrick.
Oden, Thomas Harvey, mayor of the city of Laurel, Miss., and a prominent and successful representative of the legal pro- fession in Jones county, is engaged in practice in Laurel and controls a large business in that section of the State He was born at Dekalb, Kemper county, Miss., Aug. 22, 1866, and is a son of Capt. George W. and Berline (Harrell) Oden, the former of whom was born in Kemper county, this State, Feb. 22, 1832, and the latter of whom was born in Choctaw county, Ala., in 1846. The father died Nov. 25, 1893, and the mother is still liv- ing. The original progenitors of the Oden family in America were three brothers of the name, one of whom set- tled in Connecticut, one in Virginia and one in South Carolina, the lineage of the subject of this review being traced to the last mentioned. These brothers came to the United States shortly after the close of the War of the Revolution, and the one who settled in South Caro- lina was great-grandfather of him whose name initiates this sketch. The grandfather, Dr. John Harvey Oden, removed to Kemper county, Miss., about 1828, and here passed the remainder of his life, having been one of the leading physicians in his section, where he controlled a large practice and having been the most extensive planter in the country round about. He owned and operated a large cotton-gin and mill, as well as a general store, and was one of the honored and influential citizens of the county. He died in 1878, at the age of seventy-nine years. At the inception of the war between the States, George W. Oden tendered his services in defense of the Confederacy,
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having enlisted in 1861, as a private in a Mississippi regiment of infantry. In the battle of Corinth he was wounded through the body, by a canister-shot, having received a total of seventeen wounds in this one engagement. He was then granted a furlough of about nine months, at the expiration of which he became a member of an- other Mississippi regiment of infantry, with which he took part in the battle of Manassas and the siege of Vicksburg. In the engage- ment at Fort Blakely, near Mobile, he was captured and was taken a prisoner to Ship Island, where he was held under a negro guard. After his final parole he returned to his home, in Kemper county, where he continued to be identified with agricultural pursuits until his death, having been a successful school teacher in his younger days. He was made captain of the company in which he first en- listed, and after the battle at Fort Blakely, upon the reorganization of his command, he was chosen colonel of his regiment, all his supe- rior officers having been killed. Thomas H. Oden, the immediate subject of this sketch, secured his preliminary educational discipline in the common schools of Kemper county, later prosecuting his studies in the Choctaw high school, in Alabama, and the normal school at Buena Vista, Miss., in which institution he was graduated in 1890, with the degree of Bachelor of Science. After his graduation he was retained one year as teacher of mathematics in this institution, and for the ensuing two years he was principal of Iron Springs nor- mal institute, in Neshoba county; then principal of the Conehatta institute, Newton county, one year; and for the following year he was principal of the high school at Sylvarena, Smith county, after which he held the principalship of Heidelberg institute, at Heidel- berg, Jasper county, for five years. In 1897, while incumbent of the position last noted, he took a special normal course in the Uni- versity of Mississippi and by virtue of the same was given a life certificate to teach in the State. He was most successful in his peda- gogic work and gained much prestige and popularity in the educa- tional field. While engaged in teaching Mr. Oden took up the study of law, and in 1899, upon examination, at Paulding, Jasper county, he was admitted to the bar of his native State, receiving his license on Christmas day of that year. He initiated the practice of his profession at Heidelberg, where he remained until 1901, when he removed to Laurel, where he has built up a representative profes- sional business and gained the confidence and esteem of his con- freres and of the general public. In politics he is a stanch adherent of the Democratic party, and while a resident of Heidelberg he served as justice of the peace prior to his admission to the bar. In 1903 he was vested with the power of notary public. He is now incumbent of the office of mayor of Laurel, having been elected by a vote of nearly two to one over his popular opponent, Dr. W. P. Davis. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, South. On May 9, 1894, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Oden to Miss Eliza- beth Victoria Simmons, daughter of Hon. John T. and Maria (Sartor) Simmons, who reside at Sylvarena, Smith county, where Mr. Sim-
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mons is engaged in the mercantile business. He represented that county in the State legislature from 1892 to 1896, inclusive. Mr. and Mrs. Oden have three children-Clarence, Ernest and Lizzie Belle.
O'Neil, John H., a representative busi- ness man of Meridian, where he has passed the greater portion of his life and where he has won marked success through well directed effort, is the owner of the Meridian Marble and Stone Works, which enter- prise was founded by his father many years ago. Mr. O'Neil was born in the city of Selma, Dallas county, Ala., Jan. 16, 1864, and is a son of John J. and Maria (Heevy) O'Neil, both of whom were born in Ireland. They removed from Alabama to New Orleans, La., from which city they came to Meridian, Miss., about the year 1869, where in that year the father estab- lished the Meridian Marble and Stone Works, having been a skilled mechanic in the line, and he developed this into one of the leading industries of the sort in that section of the State, remaining identi- fied with the same until his death, in June, 1898, his wife surviving him until November, 1905. He was a man of integrity and good business ability and won for himself a high place in the confidence and esteem of the people of Meridian, where his widow resided. He was a Confederate soldier in the Civil war and was a communi- cant of the Catholic church, as was also his wife. Of their seven chil- dren only four are living, Thomas H., John H., Catherine and Agnes. John H. O'Neil received his educational training in the schools of Meridian and in St. Stanislaus college, a Catholic institution at Bay St. Louis, Miss. He early began to assist his father in his stone and marble works, literally growing up in the business and thus being familiar with all details. In 1885 he was admitted to partnership by his honored father and after the death of the latter he acquired the entire control, assuming the ownership Jan. 1, 1899. He has continued the enterprise most successfully and is one of the reliable and progressive business men of the city. He is a stock- holder and director of the Miazza-Woods building, a stockholder and director in the Southern bank, and a stockholder in the Union Bank and Trust Company. In politics the Democratic party claims his allegiance, and he is affiliated with the Elks, Woodmen of the World, and Knights of Pythias, being also a member of the board of trade and president of the Meridian athletic association. Both he and his wife are communicants of the Catholic church. On Jan. 21, 1885, Mr. O'Neil was united in marriage to Miss Ella Martin, daugh- ter of James J. Martin, of Meridian, and they have five children : Norbert E., Rita, Bernard T., Kathleen I., and John H., Jr.
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Oliver, Rev. Charles A., of Jackson, Miss., was born in Mississippi, May 1, 1857, and is the son of Dr. Charles A. and S. J. (Spann) Oliver, both of whom were na- tives of Nottoway county, Va. Father Oliver received his early education in Ce- cilian college, Kentucky, from which he was graduated at the age of seventeen. He taught school in the same institution for three years, after which he went to Rome where he remained six years, taking a degree of Doctor of Divinity at the Col- legio di Propaganda. He studied theol- ogy under Cardinal Satolli. In 1883 he was placed in charge of the Catholic church at Holly Springs, where he remained two years. He has served in the ministry and has had charge of the church at Vicksburg, and was pastor at Scranton for eight years. In 1896 he succeeded L. A. Duto, of Jackson, which work he still retains. He is chancellor of the diocese of Natchez, consultor of the Bishop and a member of the Knights of Columbus and Catholic Knights of America. Under his ministry, the Catholic church of Jackson has grown rapidly and has erected one of the handsomest church edifices in the State.
Ormond, John W., one of the leading young business men of the city of Merid- ian, where he is a member of the exten- sive merchant-tailoring firm of Carlson & Ormond, the largest concern of the sort in the State, was born in the city which is now his home, the date of his nativity having been Feb. 12, 1883. He is a son of Benjamin F. and Elizabeth J (Watts) Ormond, the latter being a daughter of Capt. James Watts, one of the earliest settlers of Meridian and one of the dis- tinguished members of the bar of the State, while he served the Confederacy with utmost loyalty as a soldier during the Civil war, having been captain of his company. Benjamin F. Ormond was born in Greene county, N. C., in January, 1849, a son of Fletcher and Fanny (Sugg) Ormond, both of whom died in 1861. He received good educational advantages, having completed his studies in the University of Kentucky, and after leaving school, he engaged in the mercantile business, being very successful. In 1881 he removed to Meridian, and in the following year engaged in the wholesale grocery and provision business, as a member of the firm of Broach, Ormond & McInnis. Changes in the personnel of the firm occurred later and he eventually conducted business in an individual way, handling heavy groceries and cotton upon an exten- sive scale, while he had other extensive industrial and capitalistic
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interests, having been one of the influential and honored business men of the city at the time of his death, which occurred in 1896. His marriage to Elizabeth Watts was solemnized in 1870, and of their nine children, six are living. Mr. Ormond was a member of the Ma- sonic fraternity, was a stanch Democrat in politics and was a zealous member of the Methodist church, of which his widow also is a mem- ber. John W. Ormond did excellent preparatory work in the public schools of Meridian, completing a high-school course, and in 1898 was matriculated in the Southern university, at Greensboro, Ala., where he remained as a student for three years. After leaving college he was employed as salesman in the shoe store of S. J. Webb, in Meridian, for one year, at the expiration of which he became an interested principal in the Meridian Tailoring Company, having the management of the business for a short time and then purchas- ing the interests of his partners, while shortly afterward he con- solidated his business with that of P. A. Carlson, with whom he has since been associated under the firm name of Carlson & Ormond. They have a finely equipped establishment and control an extensive trade, ramifying throughout Mississippi and western Alabama; in fact it may be said, without fear of authoritative contradiction, that the firm has the largest tailoring business in the State of Mis- sissippi, with stock and equipments of the highest type. Mr. Ormond is a progressive and energetic young business man and is well main- taining the high reputation of the name which he bears. He is a stockholder in the Cohn Brothers Manufacturing Company, and the Minona Portland Cement Co. In politics he is properly aligned as a loyal supporter of the Democratic party and its principles, and he is affiliated with the Kappa Alpha college fraternity, the Wood- men of the World and the Fraternity of American Citizens, while he is well known and enjoys marked popularity in both the business and social life of his native city.
Oliver, Arthur W., merchant and planter, of Courtland, Panola county, is one of the progressive and young business men of this section, where he has control of the important interests in the owner- ship of which he is associated with his father. He was born in the city of New Orleans, La., in May, 1883, and is a son of Andrew F. and Ella (Figg) Oliver, who are now resident of the city of Memphis, Tenn. The father is there living, practically retired, though he is a stockholder in one of the largest cotton concerns in that city, having long been identified in a prominent way with the cotton industry, while he has extensive capitalistic interests in Mississippi, in which State he long maintained his home. Arthur W. Oliver secured his early educational training in the public schools, after which he was a student for three years in the University of Mississippi, at Oxford. Upon leaving school he became actively associated with the business of his father, and he is well upholding the honors of the name which he bears, being an alert, enterprising and reliable young business man and one who gains and retains the confidence and esteem of those with whom he comes in contact. He has the general super- intendency of the well equipped mercantile establishment in whose
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ownership he is associated with his father, at Courtland, and also gives his personal attention to their fine landed estate of 2,500 acres, near this village, the plantation being devoted principally to the raising of cotton. In politics he is a stanch Democrat.
Orr, Judge J. A., one of the distinguished lawyers and jurists of Mississippi, is en- gaged in the active practice of his pro- fession at Columbus, Lowndes county, and is consistently designated as the Nestor of the Mississippi bar, which has been honored and dignified by his services. Judge Orr was born in Craytonville, An- derson county, S. C., on April 10, 1828, and is a son of Christopher and Martha (McCann) Orr, both of whom were like -- wise born in Anderson county, the former on May 2, 1784, and the latter on March 26, 1798. Christopher Orr was a son of Jehu Orr, who was captain of dragoons in the Continental service, during the War of the Revolution, taking part in the battle of the Cowpens and other engagements in South Carolina. His widow, Jane B. Orr, survived him a number of years, and was granted a pension under the act of congress of 1855, while she also received a bounty land warrant, No. 36,304, issued on Aug. 4, 1856, signed by J. Minot, commissioner, and bearing a portrait of President Pierce on the left and one of Secretary Dobbins on the right. This warrant has been reproduced by photographic process and copies of the same are now in the possession of a number of descendants of the old Revolutionary captain, including the children of the late James L. Orr, of South Carolina, and those of Mrs. James S. Calhoun, whose children are the grandnephews and grandnieces of John C. Calhoun. In his youth, Judge Orr was afforded the best of educational advantages, having been a student of Erskine college, South Carolina, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, while in July, 1857, he received the degree of Master of Arts from Princeton college, New Jersey. He became a resident of Mississippi in 1843, and when the Civil war was precipitated upon a divided country, he was loyal to the institutions and inherent rights of the South, manifesting his allegiance in no equivocal way. In February, 1862, he was commissioned by J. P. Benjamin, secre- tary of war, to raise a regiment for the Confederate army. He re- cruited a regiment of 1,400 men, and on April 9, 1862, was unani- mously elected colonel of this regiment, the Thirty-first Mississippi. He was in command of this regiment during the entire Mississippi campaigns of 1862-3, under the commands of Generals Van Dorn, Pemberton and Johnston, remaining with the regiment until April, 1864, when he resigned, to take his seat in the Second Confederate congress, to which he had been elected in October. At the time of the outbreak of the war, Judge Orr was a large landholder and slave owner of Chickasaw county, and he was one of the many citi-
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